Brownie and Berry Dessert Pizza

We went to a BBQ for Memorial Day and I wanted to bring a dessert. I found this on Betty Crocker and thought it sounded amazing! Easy, fruity, and chocolate! What can be better than that?! :)

Ingredients
1 box of Brownie mix (oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box) I used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix.
1 package of 8oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup apple jelly

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of a 12 inch pizza pan. (I bought a cheap pizza pan from Wal-Mart)
2. Make brownie mix as directed on box.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. About 1 hour.
4. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with mixer until smooth. I added some lemon juice too! Spread mixture over brownie. Arrange berries over the cream cheese mixture. Stir jelly until smooth and brush over berries. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. I cut it into little squares. It was simple and easy and super delicious! Great for a summer BBQ!

Life Lessons over Pancakes

I've learned a lot about life over pancakes. 

Saturday mornings might be my favorite day of the week. Especially if we have no plans early in the morning. I have gotten into the routine of making pancakes or waffles every Saturday morning. My son is too young to realize it, but give it a few months and he will expect there to pancakes. I think I do it more for me, than for him. Traditions are my favorite thing about my childhood and I want my children to have them too. Traditions help stabilize your family and your life. It might sound silly, but I want my children to grow up eating pancakes every Saturday morning.

With this fast paced life we are all living it is hard to eat around the table. Since having a child, we have been doing it a lot more. I love being in the kitchen in the morning with the sun shining through the windows. I love putting hot, little pancake circles on an Elmo plate with powdered sugar on top. I love pouring orange juice into a little cup. I love sitting down with my one year old and giggling, talking, and babbling over pancakes. Life seems so simple in this moment. 

I'm not sure what makes it so simple. The fact that there's a hot breakfast on the table or the fact that it is pancakes. I mean, who doesn't love pancakes? During the week we eat a lot of granola bars, cereal, and bananas. On Saturday morning we are sitting down and eating. I think children love to eat the table. It makes them feel like a big kid. It makes them feel part of the family. They are eating with you and they know they have all of your attention. Children crave attention and it's our job as parents to give it to them. They like to feel part of something special.

Sure, it's breakfast. But it sure is special to this mom. I remember the mornings my mom would make us waffles and when my dad would make us eggs. I'm pretty sure they thought they weren't doing anything special but if I've held on to those memories 20 years later, I would say those Saturday mornings were a big deal to me. Now that I look back on it, I realize how special those mornings were. My parents took the time on their day off to make me breakfast. Sure, they could have just handed me a pop tart or poured me a bowl of cereal, but they threw some flour in a bowl instead. My mom taught me that when a pancake had lots of bubbles that it was time to be flipped. To this day, that's how I know that a pancake is ready. I learned patience over pancakes. I learned that good things come to those who wait. I learned that love is in the kitchen and that a kitchen makes a home. I learned that memories are made in the kitchen. I learned that most problems can be fixed over pancakes, especially pancakes with chocolate chips. I learned that sometimes you just need a stack of pancakes to make you realize how great life really is.

They always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and now I'm finally realizing why. 

No one said it would be easy....

No one said it would be easy. They said it would be hard, really hard. I'm talking about just life in general; everything that comes along with life. Jobs, marriage, children, education, etc. I mean, I knew it wasn't all going to be on a silver platter, but I didn't know it would stress me out this much. Maybe I just let everything in life stress me out, when really, I just need to sit back and appreciate what I have. 

I have my health. Health is one thing that I think we all take for granted. I've watched people I love crumble because of their health issues and I've watched people I love die because they've lost the health they once had. That is one of the hardest things to do; watch someone you love lose the life they once knew because their body won't let them live it. I take for granted the fact that I can jump, run, lift, swim, bike whenever I want. I take for granted that I can see the sun rise and set, the flowers bloom in the spring, see the leaves change in the fall, and watch the snow fall from the sky. I forget that not everyone can smell homemade cookies baking or smell a dozen roses. Even on the days that I feel horrible, I forget it could be so much worse.

I have my family. I have two amazing parents that have taught me to never, ever give up. They taught me to fight for what I love and to always be strong. I grew up with a brother unlike any other. He taught me that hard work does pay off and if you do something you love with your life, you will be happy. I have the best uncle in the world and so many childhood memories have him in them. He is one of the strongest people I know and I look up to him, admire him, and am so proud of him. I love him more than he will ever know. I don't think any of them know how much they have impacted my life. They are all some of the most beautiful people that God put on this Earth. 

I have my husband and my marriage. He lifts me up. He is my strength when I am not sure which way to go. When I first met him, I knew that somehow he would change my life forever and he has and he will continue to do that as long as I live. He forgives me, loves me, and supports me. What more could I ask for? I think the thing I admire the most is the fact that he forgives me. When I mess up or drive him nuts or say things that I probably shouldn't, he forgives me and moves on. He is one of the strongest and most dedicated people I know. He puts his whole heart into what he loves and his passion drives him every single day. I am so proud of him and what he does for our family. I do not tell him that enough. When you get married you marry someone for better AND for worse. You commit to this person and promise to stand by them on their best days AND on their worst days. Marriage is a lifetime commitment and you should do everything in your power to keep your marriage together and keep it alive. You both have to make an effort to make sure your marriage, your love (and yes, your sex life stay alive). Marriage takes work. You have to make sure that flame is still burning. The more you get to know your spouse, the better your marriage will be. There will never, EVER be a day that you stop learning things about the person you married. You will learn something new about them every day that you are together. Of course, you are going to fight. Everyone fights. That's okay. That means you believe in something. That means you believe in each other. You should be worried when you aren't fighting. That means that there is nothing left for you fight for. You should both fight for each other. That's the beauty in fighting. 

I have my son. Every single time I feel lost, I look at him, and everything is as it should be. He lights up my life and makes me feel like I have purpose in this world. It's amazing how a child can make you feel. This little person relies on me to survive. He is always excited to see me and never wants me to go. I know that it will change but I'm going to take what I can get for right now. He makes me feel so complete and every single day I try harder just for him. He makes it easier to wake up in the morning. He came into my life exactly when I needed him to. He teaches me to focus on today and to hope for tomorrow. 

I think that life is unpredictable. No one is ever going to know what will happen or where you will be 5 years from now. The most important thing to remember is that life goes on. No matter how hard it seems right now or how scared you are about the future, life is not going to sit back and wait for you to get it together. Life is going to just keep going and it isn't going to stop. Days will turn into months, months into years, and you will wonder how you got where you are. Take the bad days and turn them into good. You might have no idea what you are doing or where you going or what exactly your purpose is, but remember, this life is a blessing. This life was given to you. So mess up, do something you never thought you would do, love more than you could ever love, and never forget that you will never get today back. Am I perfect? Far from it. Do I hurt people I love? You better believe I do and I hate that. But you know what? I learn from my mistakes, I learn from the pain I cause others, and I learn from the love that people give me. So all I can do from this day forward is enjoy the NOW, appreciate every kiss I get from my baby, and cherish every moment I have with the people I love. Because tomorrow might never come. Tomorrow might be too late. Don't wait around for someone to save you. You just need to save yourself. Happiness comes from within. If you are happy, people in your life will be happy too. There is no better time to change than right now. Live. Laugh. Love. Your future is now. 

I am thankful for all the people in my life that have stood by me, support me every single day, listen to me complain, and deal with all my fears, dreams, and failures. I am thankful for the people in my life that have given up on me, left me, and pushed me to the ground. Without those people I would not be who I am today. Without them, I would not have gotten back up and pushed ahead. Without them, I would not have realized how strong I am. Without them, I would not have realized what I deserve. I am blessed to be here and to live each beautiful day exactly how God wants me to live it. He is writing my story. I am just along for the ride. Make tomorrow better than today. Have no regrets. And love with every breath you take. 

Homemade Finger Paint

We have a snow day here in central Nebraska today! And tomorrow is another one too! Today we did a lot of painting! We made homemade finger paint. My one year old loved it and I think it will be a regular thing. It was kind of clumpy so maybe the next batch will turn out a little better. I'm not sure how the pictures will dry. He only painted one page and he wanted to throw it away. He just realized how neat it is to throw things in the trash, so we are just going with that right now! :)

Recipe for homemade finger paints: 

3 Tbs Sugar 

1/2 tsp Salt 

1/2 cup Corn Starch 

 2 cups Water 

 Combine ingredients in a small pan. Warm until the mixture thickens. Cool and pour into containers. Add food coloring!! 

 Easy, fun, and I promise it will fill your house with giggles!
recipe from theBerry!

There is no doubt about it. This little boy lights up my life. Isn't it amazing how much they can change your life? I was one lost soul before he came into my life. I am so blessed to be his mommy. 

DIY Lost Socks Board

I did a ridiculous amount of laundry today. That's how I always do laundry. I end up doing so many loads that usually not all the pairs of socks get washed in the same load. I didn't notice how many socks I had that didn't have a mate until after I would do another load...SOOOO....I decided it was time for a Lost Socks board. I've seen these on Pinterest and figured I'd give it a try!

I had a lot of fun with this one. My one year old son had a great time helping me out too! He loved putting his feet in paint! After I made this and hung it up, I ended up matching 3 pairs of socks. All in all, I'd say that it is already coming in handy!

I bought the board at Hobby Lobby. I painted it white. I then put the footprints on. Next, I traced the letters and painted them with a paint marker. I put scrapbook paper on the paperclips with Mod Podge and glued those on. Then, I decided to put some ribbon on the back to hang it up. This was super easy and I did it in one evening. I didn't measure anything so not everything is even, but that isn't a big deal to me! I'm not too picky when it is only going to be in my laundry room. I think the cute little footprints catch most of the attention anyway! :) 

Baked Southwestern Chicken Mini Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch Dipping Sauce

I bought some frozen Southwestern Egg Rolls a few months ago and loved them. I thought to myself, "Hey, I could probably make these." Well, that thought ended there. Then, the other day my husband told me we would be going to a friend's house for a Super Bowl party and of course I knew I needed to bring something. These egg rolls popped back into my head and I searched for a recipe that I liked! I found this from This Mommy Cooks! Check out her blog! I love love love it!

Ingredients:
For the egg rolls
3 chicken breasts (I shredded these in my food processor!)
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 15oz can of black beans (rinse and drain)
1 9oz package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I used Mexican)
1 7oz can of diced green chiles (drained)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package of wonton wrappers

For avocado ranch
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 avocado, peeled and pitted

Directions
For egg rolls:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Mix together chicken, corn, beans, spinach, cheese, chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper.
3. Scoop a small amount of the filling onto a wrapper.
4. Start at the corner and roll up the wrapper.
5. Once it's almost rolled, fold in both sides and finish rolling.
6. Wet your finger and dab a bit on the corner to seal it shut.
7. Bake for 7 minutes. Turn egg rolls over and bake an additional 7 minutes.

For avocado ranch:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Eat immediately!




***I also added some olives to the mixture! Not sure how many. I just kind of added some until I thought it looked good! :)
***Also, I only used one package of wonton wrappers, but I had SOOOO much mixture leftover that I probably could have filled two more packages of wrappers. We are using the extra in tortillas though, and it's great!

Chicken topped with Tomatoes, Spinach, Mushrooms, & Feta Cheese

Happy New Year!! This year in our house we are going to start CLEAN eating! We are cutting out processed foods. I am excited about this and the healthy change we are making for our family! Fresh fruits, veggies, chicken, fish, and deer burger will fill out kitchen. My 18 month old loves loves loves hotdogs so the other day when I was at Target I picked up some turkey dogs and he loves them just the same! I have to admit they are pretty good! I've noticed in the few CLEAN meals that I've made the past couple days is that I make up recipes as I go. For supper the other night I made chicken breasts and then I sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach in a skillet with some red wine vinegar and a tiny bit of butter. I put the mushroom mixture on top and sprinkled some feta cheese on top of everything and it was amazing! I paired this with a little salad. My husband was very satisfied and the baby enjoy it too so it was a win win! This recipe will definitely be in our meal plan rotation!  

Sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach in a red wine vinegar and a little butter. 

Cooked the chicken breasts on my George Foreman. I put lemon pepper on both sides of the chicken.

Topped the chicken with the mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. Added some feta cheese on top! 

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts

Tomatoes (diced)

Mushrooms

Spinach (I tore my spinach up so it would be easier to eat)

Feta Cheese

Seasoning for the chicken breasts

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Ritz Bits

Okay, everyone loves chocolate. Everyone loves peanut butter. Put those two together and you are going to make a lot of people happy. One of my friend's introduced me to these. She actually used the regular sized Ritz Bits crackers. She made a peanut butter sandwich, then dipped. I, on the other hand, am pretty lazy. So, I just bought the mini peanut butter sandwiches, melted some chocolate, and did a whole lot of dipping! After I got them all covered I put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes. You can leave them at room temperature if you are going to eat them soon, but I think they are great cold! If you need one last Christmas treat or just something sweet and salty around the house, make these! Super easy, quick, and everyone will love them! :)

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Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

This is genious! And soooo delicious! I cannot wait to make this again...like probably next week. Super easy and the flavors are amazing! I know you will love this as much as I do!!!

INGREDIENTS

8oz Thinkly Sliced Roast Beef

8 Slices Provolone Cheese

2 Large Green Bell Peppers

1 Medium Sweet Onion

6 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms

2 Tbs. of Butter

2 Tbs. of Olive Oil

1 Tbs. of Minced Garlic

DIRECTIONS
1. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise, remove ribs and seeds. 

2. Slice onion and mushrooms. Saute them over medium heat with butter, olive oil, minced garlic, and a little salt and pepper. Saute until caramelized - about 25 minutes. 

3. Slice roast beef into thin strips and add to the onion/mushroom mixture. Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes. 

4. Line the inside of the peppers with a slice of provolone cheese. 

5. Fill each pepper with meat mixture. 

6. Top each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese. 

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. 

I tore the cheese up before I put it on the bottom of the pepper. I couldn't find very large peppers. I think next time I'll put two slices of cheese on the bottom. I didn't bake my peppers for 15 minutes. I think I baked them for about 10. I like my peppers a little crunchy. I LOVED these!!! 

I got these recipe from a GREAT blog called Peace, Love, and Low Carb!!! Check it out! 

45 years is a beautiful thing...

On August 12th my parents were married 45 years. Holy cow. As a newlywed who is close to being married 1, yes ONE year, 45 years is completely amazing. I look back over the past year that I have been married and realize how much my husband and I have been through and its mind blowing to think of everything my parents have been through in the 45 years they have been together. Laughter, tears, sadness, happiness, love, death, trials, joy, trust, rising above, failing...and they did it all together. That is what marriage is all about.

I planned a surprise party for their big day. Let's just say, I will probably never do this again! Trying to figure out who to invite was stressful to say the least! I didn't want to forget anyone! Luckily since I recently got married I had most of my parent's friend's addresses so it was easier than it would've been! Anyway, I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves because there really are no words to describe the evening that we had. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing...I will remember the look on their faces for the rest of my life. Definitely a moment I will never forget.

How does this not make your heart melt??? Completely surprised. I think every child should experience this look from their parent's. 

Gosh, what a beautiful love they have. 

Me, my son, father, husband, brother, and mother. 

Everyone waiting for my parents arrival! 

Pictures of my parents together over the years. People even brought gifts! :) 

Looking at the pictures from this day brings tears to my eyes. Watching them walk into the room and see all their close friends and family sitting there waiting for THEM gave me butterflies! That was the most rewarding feeling I could have and made all the preparations completely worth it. I would probably do it all over again just to see the joy on their faces. AHHHH....LOVE! 

My advice to a first time mom...

Lately, all this natural parenting advice has been all over the place. I love all this new information but honestly, it scares the crap out of me! One of my friends posted a Facebook status about how worried she was to get her daughter's 2 month shots. I guess people have the choice to not get all the shots that are suggested at a certain age all at the same time? I probably sound super naive, but I'm a first time mom and I am just going with the flow. Anyway, some children have horrible reactions when they have to get 3 or 4 shots at a time so parents are choosing to spread the shots out. I had no idea you could do this?! I was blown out of the water! Granted, I'm not sure what the "rules" are when it comes to putting your child in daycare because I think certain shots are required since the child is going to be around other children, but regardless, I think it's pretty cool that you can do that. My son has never had a bad reaction to the shots so I don't know if I would do it differently the next time.

I guess I just get really flustered when I hear all this natural parenting stuff. I love the idea of cloth diapers and really want to use them when we have another baby. There is just SO much information and SO many opinions that it's hard to figure out what is best for you and your baby. One HUGE topic these days is breastfeeding. I breastfed for about 2 months or so. After I had my son I had about 3 months until my wedding. And I started my last semester of classes. Some would say this is an excuse, but I was a little overwhelmed. I had tons of appointments to go to where I just didn't have the time to nurse so formula just ended up being a better fit. I had NO education on nursing and ZERO support so I struggled a lot. I would say 95% of the information I got was off the Internet. I pumped for a couple weeks before I stopped completely. I had such a hard time quitting. I would cry and cry about the thought of stopping. It was miserable. It would take me an entire day of pumping to get enough for one feeding, but yet, I still couldn't bring myself to quit. Now, when I look back on how much I struggled, I realize I wasted so much energy on it. When the next baby comes around I cannot wait to tackle the whole nursing thing head on. From what I've learned from friends is that breastfeeding is a lot easier when you have a support system. I plan on joining a group either at the hospital or online, or both.

The hardest thing for me to accept as a first time mom, a working mom, and a (somewhat) young mom, is that you cannot listen to EVERYTHING someone says. Yes, take in what they say, but know in the back of your mind that it might not work for you and your baby, but then again it might. That is the hardest thing to remember. You will find what works for you and your child. Some people have extremely long nights where their baby never sleeps, and then some people, like me, have a baby who sleeps through the night at 6 weeks. You will hear tons of people that say to never give your baby a pacifier or to let your baby cry it out or to not let your baby cry it out. You might hear from someone that you shouldn't introduce solids until 6 months instead of 4 or wait until 9 months. There are so many opinions and everyone has a different idea. People might say that when your baby becomes a year old they can face forward in their car seat, even though it's recommended that they rear-face longer than a year. If it worked for their child, it might not work for yours. Just remember to not get all caught up in what everyone is doing. Try it out and if it doesn't work, don't put yourself down. You and your baby will be fine.

The best advice I have: Do what you want to do, relax, and ENJOY every single second, because each day your baby will be different than he was the day before. Cherish every breath, every tear, every smile, every giggle. Just LIVE.

**note** I am still pretty clueless about a lot of all these natural parenting ideas so I am open to hear any tips, advice, information that is out there! Feel free to share your experiences please! I would love love love to hear them!  :)

Hunter's 1st Birthday Farm Party

The time has finally come! My baby boy is finally ONE! Oh my gosh. I have no idea where the last year has went. It was by far the best and hardest year of my life. SO many obstacles and adventures. I have learned so much about being a mom and a wife. I feel so "experienced!" Ha! The day he was born is still so vivid in my memory. I wish I could go back and relive it all over again, minus the labor part. :)

 We had a Farm Birthday party for the little guy! I made a cow cake, which I am pretty proud of! It turned out exactly how I wanted it!!! Everything worked out great and we had so much fun with friends and family. It's safe to say Hunter had a great time and has waaay too many toys! Here's some pictures of his special day!

Pictures of Hunter month 1 -12! 

LOVED the bandana paper I found! 

Gotta love clothespins! :) 

Pictures and his baby book that I have kept updated!
The outfit is the outfit he wore home from the hospital! :)

Smash cake, cow cake, cow plates, bandana napkins,
mints, and cupcakes!:)

My masterpiece!!!

Pretty proud of this! 

I bought the bandana flags, napkins, and cow plates from Birthday Express. I bought the bandana paper and bandana wrapped mints from Hobby Lobby.