Fluffy Pancakes

I know most of us think that the pre-prepared pancake mix is deserving of our breakfast attention, but I'm here to tell you to say goodbye to those bags of gross! If you want a real breakfast, try these homemade pancakes! both delicious and oh so fluffy

Ingredients:

3/4 C milk

2 TBL vinegar (you can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar)

1 C flour

2 TBL white sugar

1 tsp baking POWDER

1/2 tsp baking SODA

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 TBL butter (melted)

STEP 1:
combine the milk and vinegar into a large bowl and whisk until mixed. Set aside to allow the milk to "sour"

STEP 2:
combine all the dried ingredients into a small bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda)

STEP 3:
add butter and egg into the milk/vinegar mixture and whisk.

STEP 4:
add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. whisk until combined. mixture shouldn't be lumpy but should be somewhat thick

STEP 5:
using a 1/4 C measuring cup pour batter onto skillet. cook until done!

STEP 6:
enjoy a delicious breakfast made from scratch!

Scheduling Baby

For all you ladies out there who have yet to be tormented by those tiny little creatures who slobber on your favorite jewelry and lick your face...

Let me let you in on a little secret. Babies just don't work like you think they're going to.

We all seem to think that darling is going to come along with this manual hanging from her neck that lets you know when to feed her, change her, and the exact times to lay her down for her naps.

BAHAHAHAHAHA

if only....

as a mother, i spend hours, literally, hours, trying to figure out why she isn't taking naps, why she isn't sleeping all night..

am i feeding her enough?

is she getting too much solids and not enough formula?

is she overtired?

is she going to bed too early?....maybe it's too late....

and then I get on facebook and get on my mommy pages and ask all the members what time their baby goes to sleep, how much they feed him, why won't Savannah take naps longer than 30 minutes???

and then after getting the typical "is she teething?'

i call my sisters and ask them a billion questions

And then

I end up figuring it out all on my own....sort of....more like suffering through the tough parts until it eventually gets better

(sigh)

Honestly, no one else can give you the answers you are looking for, because each baby is so different and they simply DON'T come with a manual. it's all about trial and error people, trial and error.

But, sometimes just being informed can help! and so, if you are struggling with no naps/frequent night wake ups/problems eating

i've arranged some info all here conveniently in one location (would've saved me some time!)

1. Start tracking your baby's sleeping and eating patterns! yeah, i know what you're thinking..."what a waste of time!" but no. seriously. makes a huge difference. I've been using Baby ESP. It's an app you can download onto your phone and it makes it very easy to time naps and add anything your little mommy heart desires. Personally, I keep track of the times of bottle feedings and amounts, and times and lengths of naps. It'll even give you stats so you can see when you're baby usually takes a nap or how much she eats each day. It's AWESOME. no joke. since we've been using it, we've gone from 3-4 30 minute naps each day to one 2 hr nap and one 40-60 min nap.

2. It's good to know how much sleep your baby should be getting each day or she can either end up not getting enough and be overtired by the time bedtime arrives (and then you're dealing with a very unhappy child who just can't fall asleep) or they sleep too much and wake up frequently throughout the night. So here's a great resource

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-child-need_7645.bc

also,  http://www.babysleepsite.com/

3.  take a deep breath. being a parent is hard, like, really hard. if you aren't a mommy yet, be prepared to have moments when you are so frustrated that you could walk out the door and never come back. be prepared to feel guilt. be prepared to have your world turned upside down. and be prepared to love like you never have before.

for those of you who are mommies. i know where you're coming from. whatever you are going through right now will get better. eventually those babies won't be pooping in a diaper or eating the cheerios off of the floor. eventually they will be having babies of their own and we can pass our awesome knowledge on...and laugh because then they will be the ones up all night!

So go ahead and let that monster sweep the floor with his tongue. one less cheerio for you to clean up

The Call

Just a couple of weeks ago I was called to be a Relief Society teacher in my ward. I teach on the second sunday of every month.

I've only given two lessons, but I already feel like this is the calling that God wants me to have at this point in my life. One thing that I am learning, is that as a teacher, you learn so much more than anybody else. As you prepare your lesson, the Spirit just guides you in ways that you never could imagine. You feel prompted towards focusing on just one thing. You are touched by the amazing comments of the woman around you and their ability to bring such unique perspectives into the lesson.

I LOVE teaching!

So I decided to share my lessons on my blog so that all of you can experience it too, and maybe you can use the material for one of your own lessons!

Once every month tune in for a spiritual feast!

DIY Recieving Blankets

Best Banana Bread

Ever since I discovered this recipe, I've been a HUGE fan of banana bread! Not only is it perfect for a delicious snack, but you can always throw the batter in some muffin tins or mini bread pans and share with your neighbors or give as a gift.

If you are looking for the tastiest banana bread recipe out there, you came to the right place!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C sugar

1/4 C softened butter (go for the real butter people, not that fake margarine crap)

2 eggs (better be cage free!)

2 bananas (they don't need to be old, in fact, I like it better when they are still yellow)

1/2 C + 2 TBL sour cream (this keeps the bread moist)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking SODA

2 C flour

chocolate chips, nuts, other mixings (optional)

okay, so first of all, it helps if you get all of your ingredients out and prepared beforehand.

STEP 1:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
cream your softened butter into your sugar. I do this simply by putting both ingredients into my kitchenAid and let it mix. Or you can use a hand mixer. mixture will still be dry but shouldn't be lumpy

STEP 2:
take your two bananas and before opening them squeeze the skin in your fist. squeeze all over and you will begin to feel the banana softening inside. I've found this is much easier than mashing the banana and works even better. After the banana feels completely mushed, open the peel and add it to your butter and sugar mixture.

STEP 3:
add eggs, sour cream, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. MIX

STEP 4:
as the mixture continues to blend, slowly add the flour. I usually add about 1/2 C at a time.

STEP 5:
once mixture is blended, add your chocolate chips or preferred mix in.

STEP 6:
place batter into bread pan or muffin tins and place in oven

BAKING TIMES: this recipe can be touchy depending on elevation and size of bread pan

large bread pan: about 1 hour, but watch closely

small bread pans: about 40 minutes to an hour

muffins: about 30 minutes, but watch closely

STEP 7:
enjoy your delicious banana bread! this is one of my favorites and now you can make it one of your own as well! Good luck!

Need to Feel Grateful

Today I am grateful for

smiles.

I can't be sad when I get one of these gorgeous little grins.

"It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime. We should all smile more often." Steve Maraboli

"oh no. Don't smile. You'll kill me. I stop breathing when you smile." Tessa Dare

"I was smiling yesterday, I am smiling today, and I will smile tomorrow. Simply because life is too short to cry for anything." Santosh Kalwar

Challenge Complete

So for all of you wondering if I really went a week without using my computer, the answer is yes! However, I did get on last night in order to pay our rent and work on my upcoming Relief Society lesson. But I'm really proud that I was able to go so long.

At the beginning of this challenge, I didn't know how I would feel about it at the end....

would I freak out from lack of computer time and refuse to let it leave my sight like I did at the end of mine and Kaity's no sugar challenge a couple of years ago (afterwards we immediately went to chili's and got a molten lava cake and swore to always eat sugar forever afterwards)? would i hate myself and raise my eyebrows at anyone who tried to do the same thing (like I did after the stupid juice fast i was talked into doing...again with Kaity....)?

Happily, today it's neither.

I would say day one was probably the hardest. Basically, I kept hearing phantom alerts from facebook all day and had a nearly uncontrollable urge to lie to everyone i know and sneak little glimpses of pinterest.

Day two: the withdrawals....they were painful. But instead of moping, I just headed over to my sister's and spent the day with her.

Day three: things were getting easier. I was noticing less and less my need for constant online connection. Savannah and I even went shopping and got her some new jammies and an adorable winter hat.

Day four and five: these days were rough. Bryce worked all day on Saturday and the little one was a grump. I barely made it through alive. The evenings were always the worst. I had nothing to do...so I forced myself to clean the bedroom and kitchen.

Day six: Sunday! Best day ever. Bryce was home and we got to go to church and then spend time with some family.

What I discovered through this whole week is that Facebook and Candy Crush and all those things that usually take up so much of my time are really pretty worthless. Getting on facebook again I realized how boring it is and how lame most of the posts are.

"I'm hungry, think I'll eat a sandwich."

"I'm tired, think I'll take a nap."

"It's snowing."

Thanks facebook, I'm really glad that you let me know it's cold outside and you haven't eaten all day.

What is with us??? Why do we let such stupid things rule our lives? Facebook is nice for keeping up with family and can have some other awesome uses, but when we measure our lives by how many facebook friends we have and how many likes we get on a post we need to stop and re group. I've done so much more this week than ever. I actually cleaned the bathroom...yep....and it needed it! There's so much I neglect when I sit on the computer all day, including my little girl.

so even though my challenge is over, I'm still going to be doing some computer boundaries. Certain things have to be done before I get computer time, and I'm going to try to stay off of it until after Savannah goes to bed.

Facebook and computers and ipads aren't evil themselves, but why waste so much of our valuable time, time that we can never get back, staring at a screen instead of doing something useful or meaningful?

Overall, I'm so glad I did this! It was difficult, but worth the lesson I learned.

And now... a little update on our last week, because I know you're dying to see some pictures of Savannah.

this baby looooves her some cheerios

 the adorable hat I was talking about....she's my chubby little eskimo :)

 this week was spent chasing this little monster everywhere. she's getting into everything and she is sure keeping mommy and daddy on our toes!

 oh yes...let the standing begin! Savannah just up and decided to stand and now she wants to do it ALL THE TIME. it's so adorable watching her get on her hands and feet and stick her little bootie in the air in an attempt to stand! She's even started cruising! I don't even have to really worry about her falling because she figured out to just sit if she slips.

 like i said, she wants to stand all the time and will use anything that can give her any leverage

it's pretty awesome when you learn something new! and it's pretty awesome being the mommy of such an adorable little munchkin. thanks baby for making my life full of adventure