A Beautiful Day!

Today is Sunday...a day of rejoice & rest...we did rejoice in this beautiful weather while Husband rested after a long night at work...so we missed our rejoice at church this morning. Since the weather was so nice I thought a walk would be nice! So I strapped P in the jogging stroller, and we started walking. Along our walk I thought...let's go by the new school! I do have to say she was stylin'! I timed it...from the school to our house is a 10 minute walk! Not too bad! A car drive is 1 minute. I wonder how long a bike ride is?! ::ahem:: Husband...time to fix those bike tires!

I do have to say...P has taken good naps today & been in a great mood! Ryan is working his last shift at Urgent Care...yes...last shift...again. When I go back to work he will need to be home with Prestyn on the days he doesn't work. That is if she goes to the daycare because we only have her signed up to go part time. Please pray with me that the wonderful lady in the neighborhood still has a spot open for Prestyn in the fall! That would be the best scenario for all of us!

So we took Ryan lunch, and some of the people at Urgent Care got to meet P. :) They were so sweet to shower us with gifts when I was pregnant...I'm glad they got to see her! So I'm sitting here on a Sunday afternoon thinking...will life be this "easy" when I go back to work? I'm super excited about the new school year, but I'm a little leary on how I'll manage a baby, a job, a home, etc. Again...please pray with me! I'm going to need it!

Maybe I should've titled this one a Beautiful Weekend! Yesterday was a great day too! My Uncle Tim & Aunt Brenda were in town so we got to visit with them a little bit at my parent's house with my mom, brothers, and nephews. :) Ryan and Dad were missed, but I was thankful P was being so social! We enjoyed our visit, and had a delicious home cooked meal! Gotta love Mom's cooking!

That walk today was good...I haven't ran since the last time I did Day 2 of C25K. It's hard to find the time! I'm still workin' on losing the last 5 pounds of baby weight! So for dinner tonight...beer soaked beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Be looking for the recipe post! :)

Cheers! XOXO!

Oh and the last pic is included because that was playing while we walked and it's our song! :)

Rebel AKA Beau-Beau

So after the tragic loss of Ryder Pup we knew we would one day want another dog...that day came sooner than we planned! I opened Safari on the iPad one day, and saw that Ryan had been searching dachshunds on petfinder.com. I perked up, and began browsing too!

We found 3 that we loved, and wanted to meet! 1 of them had a video! And oh my cute!! This dog was found and taken to DFW Pup Patrol. The vet thought he was about a year old, and a mix between a long haired dachshund & pomeranian. He was so cute!!

So we went ahead & filled out the application. I got a call from Beau-Beau's foster mommy. Their only concern was us having a 4 month old baby, and how Beau-Beau would do around a baby. So I asked if we could at least come over & meet him to see how he would do...

He did great! And we fell in love with him! We wanted to go home, and talk about it before taking him with us...so we talked...and decided we would try! With the adoption process you're allowed a 72 hour "test run" just in case! Since we were out of town for the Baucom wedding we decided to get him once we got back.

The day before picking him up we went to PetsMart. We got him toys, treats, a collar, and even a tag with the name Rebel engraved on it! ::Side Note:: Those who know...Ryder was named Ryder because the offical Texas Tech mascot is Masked Rider. I just changed the spelling because apparently I like doing that i.e. naming my daughter Prestyn. :) Well since Ryan went to Ole Miss we always said our next dog would be named Rebel.

So we went to get Beau-Beau, brought him home, and began calling him Rebel! He was a really smart dog & caught on really quit! He would come if we called Rebel. He could sit, shake, stay, lay down...he was a great dog! We had so much fun with him the first day and night...he even slept on our bed!

The next day Ryan had to work so I was home alone with the baby & the dog. And oooohhh boy! That was a lot of work! A new dog with a baby was just too much for me to handle alone. All day I was looking forward to Ryan coming home that evening since he was working his part time job. But I kept thinking, "I can't do this again tomorrow!" Since Ryan was to go in for 24 hours the next day...

So with tears in my eyes we decided it was too soon, and wasn't going to work for us...So I texted Beau-Beau's foster mommy. She completely understood, and came to pick him up the next morning. There will be another "Rebel" in our life, but not for a while...

I just had to blog about this since this sweet dog was a part of our lives even if it was just for a couple days. :) And I had to include the pictures I got of him! :)

What's for Dinner?::BBQ Turkey Joes

This is the WW version of sloppy joes...I've had another sloppy joe recipe that they have, but I thought this one would be good...and it was! I didn't measure anything. I just kept adding BBQ sauce until it looked "sloppy". I also added chili powder for a little kick. I served it with waffle fries...again...not WW, but all is ok in moderation! ;) Here's the recipe!

Ingredients

	1 pound(s) uncooked ground turkey breast
	1/2 item(s) (medium) uncooked bell pepper(s), chopped
	1/2 medium sweet red pepper(s), chopped
	1/2 medium uncooked onion(s), chopped
	1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
	1 cup(s) barbecue sauce
	4 item(s) mixed grain hamburger roll(s), sliced in half

Instructions

• Brown turkey in a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain off liquid. Add peppers and onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
  
• Add barbecue sauce and cayenne pepper; heat thoroughly, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.
  
• Top bottom half of buns with turkey mixture; cover with top half of bun and serve.

Introducing Solid Foods

It's funny how whenever you: get engaged, get married, get pregnant, have a baby, etc...everybody feels the need to give you their opinon on the topics whether you ask for it or not. Yes we are new at all these things, and we do appreciate advice...when we ask for it...anyway...rant over...maybe I shouldn't even include that part...it's my blog and I'll say what I want to! ;)

So some say give cereal in a bottle right away...it'll help the baby sleep at night. Some say don't give any solids (including cereal) until 6 months. Some say skip cereal all together, and go to puree at 6 months. And our pediatrican said...you can start cereal now that she is 4 months! So...that's who we listened to! :)

I bought rice & oatmeal cereal in the brand the pediatrician suggested. We tried rice first. I didn't follow the mixing instructions. Ha! I just put some breastmilk in a bowl then kept slowly adding the rice cereal until it was "the desired consistency".

We are thankful enough to be given a high chair by one of Ryan's co-workers. Prestyn has mainly just been playing in it with plastic cookie cutters while I cook. And of course I'm teaching her colors & shapes while she "plays". Well today she got to use the high chair for what it was meant for!

We will probably eventually feed her cereal at our dinner time, but wanted to do a morning feeding so we can watch for any allergic reactions. So once P was all set up it was time to start filming! I mean feeding! haha! We did both! It was so cute! She didn't really know what to think at first, and basically spit it all out! She eventually opened up to the idea, and opened her mouth & actually took some of the cereal in rather than just leaving it on her bib. :)

This part cracks me up:: Ryan was saying yum, yummy, mmmm! Then I told him to try it. (I guess he thought I already did so he tried it.) Through a fake smile & gritted teeth he said mmmm this tastes like crap! HAHAHAHA! Then I tried it...yup! Tastes like crap! I was gagging & looking for my water! How can I feed this to my child?!

Tomorrow morning we will try oatmeal cereal, and see if it's any better...I think at 5 months we'll start veggies, then fruits. Then at 6 months add meats. Oh my goodness our baby girl is getting so big!!

"What hotel again?"

Husband knows why this is the title of this post...

We have been so excited to take Prestyn to her first wedding since before she was born! The bride was even so excited that she bought Prestyn's outfit for the wedding since it matched her wedding colors! The wedding was in Weatherford which was about an hour and a half drive for us so this would also be Prestyn's first hotel stay!

We let Prestyn nap for a while the morning of the wedding so that she'd be well rested before the big night! She napped all the way there. Once we got there she even took a little cat nap! Then...she was ready to partaaaaaay!!!

The venue where the wedding was was beautiful! Every detail that Amanda put into decorating was so pretty & perfect! The ceremony was outside...thankfully it didn't rain since it had been raining this day...but "they" say it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day! :) ::side note:: I wonder what "they" say about high winds on your wedding day? That's what we had!

Amanda looked stunning! And Calen looked handsome! Amanda was crying as soon as she saw Calen...so sweet! We sat on the Groom's side so we saw Amanda the whole time. We're really friends with both of them so to pick a side was hard to do...we just picked the side that had the quickest get away in case the baby started crying! But she didn't! She was absolutely perfect the entire time! We had a paci just in case, but she wanted nothing to do with that! She just wanted to watch the happy couple get hitched!

Once the ceremony was over the crowd celebrated by spraying silly string! How fun!! Ryan tried to shield Prestyn's head, but I think she enjoyed it. :) Then we went into Th' Barn for dinner, drinks, and dancing!

Dinner was from Babe's. Which neither of us have ever had before & boy oh boy was it yum-o! They had HUGE buckets of water, soda, and beer. Then a margarita machine & wine! :) There was also sweet tea & water in mason jars! So cute! They also had cute coozies to keep and remember their special day. :) They played all the fun wedding songs...I had fun dancing with Prestyn in my lap & she enjoyed watching everybody dance.

When the slow songs played P had her first daddy/daughter dance with her daddy. :) It was very sweet! I of course wanted some snuggles too! We were so proud of P for not fussing even the tiniest bit! She was so perfect! Once we thought she was getting sleepy she just went to sleep in Ryan's arms! We said our good-byes & went to the hotel...

It was a really nice hotel, and Prestyn did great sleeping there at night...She was ready to wake up at 5:50 though! We thought she'd sleep longer since hotels have the black out curtains, but nope...she was ready to start the day! So Daddy made coffee while Mommy fed her then we enjoyed a breakfast downstairs. :) It was a great weekend!

What's for Dinner?::Chicken Marsala

Oh my goodness! This was SO good!!! I was wishing I made more to have more because it was SO good!

 

Ingredients

	2 tsp olive oil
	3 cup(s) fresh mushroom(s), fresh, sliced
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4 oz pieces
	1 tsp dried thyme
	1/2 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp black pepper
	1/2 cup(s) table wine, Marsala variety
	1 1/4 cup(s) canned beef broth, reduced-sodium, divided
	1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender and releasing liquid, about 5 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, place chicken on a plate and season both sides with thyme, salt and pepper. Move mushrooms to outer edge of skillet once cooked. Place chicken in center of skillet and sauté until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
  
• Add wine to skillet; simmer 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of broth and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 8 minutes.
  
• Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth in a small bowl; add to skillet. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly and incorporating mushrooms into the liquid, about 1 minute. Serve chicken with mushroom sauce spooned over top. Yields about 3 ounces of chicken and 1/3 cup of sauce per serving.

What's for Dinner?::Chicken Sausage Casserole

I didn't get my own picture of this one so the picture is from the Weight Watchers website, but this is pretty much what mine looked like. It was really good, and made enough for lots of leftovers! It was so good I didn't mind having it for lunch & dinner for a couple days! ;)

I couldn't find Chicken Sausage so I just used regular Italian Sausage & crumbled it as I cooked in...I'm sure it was probably more points this way, but that's the joy of Weight Watchers...you have room for flexibility!




Ingredients

	2 spray(s) cooking spray
	12 oz uncooked whole wheat pasta, rotini suggested (about 3 cups)
	1 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin
	1/2 cup(s) panko breadcrumbs
	2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano suggested
	1 tsp dried oregano
	8 oz cooked chicken sausage(s), Italian-variety, thinly sliced
	1 medium yellow pepper(s), thinly sliced
	1 medium uncooked, onion(s), chopped
	1 pound(s) fresh mushroom(s), sliced
	2 Tbsp water
	4 cup(s) marinara sauce
	1 cup(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9- X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  
• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain pasta and return to pot.
  
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring often, until toasted, about 4 minutes. Remove breadcrumbs to a small bowl; stir in Parmesan and oregano and set aside.
  
• In same skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until browned, about 5 minutes; remove to a plate and drain any fat from skillet.
  
• Add pepper and onion to skillet; cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables start to brown and soften, about 5 minutes.
  
• Add mushrooms and water to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
  
• Add vegetables, sausage and marinara sauce to pot with drained pasta; toss to coat. Spoon into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with mozzarella and reserved breadcrumbs. Bake until heated through and cheese melts, about 25 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving (about 1 1/2 cups).