Random stuff I love

I don't really have anything specific to talk about right now.  So I'll just tell you about a few of my favorite things lately.  I take that back...I actually have a lot to post but I'm just so behind on organizing my pictures from the camera. I'll try to work on that over the weekend :)

In the meantime...

Fashion Star

Have you seen it yet?  It's on Tuesday nights, I think around 9pm.  Hopeful designers create pieces and then showcase them on a runway for the judges to give feedback.  H&M, Macy's, and Saks are all stores that can bid on the designs, if they do make a bid and the designer accepts, the clothes are for sale the very next day.  So far I haven't really seen anything that I would want to go out and buy but the concept is a lot of fun and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite shows right now.

Chobani Greek Yogurt

I'm not the only one that loves this stuff right now.  Benjamin is obsessed!  When he was sick a couple of weeks ago, this is the only thing we could get him to eat.  He went about 3 days straight on nothing but yogurt.  He will seriously stand in front of the refridgerator and whine until the door is opened.  Once you open the door, watch out - those little grubby fingers are fast and he will try to snatch up not one, not two, but three yogurts at one time. I made the biggest mistake last night and forgot to get more while we were at Target.  Thankfully I was able to distract him with three clemantines but I'm thinking I won't be so lucky today.  I'm going to have to make a stop at the store otherise Benjamin might declare a yogurt war :)

Olay Luscious Embrace

I'm  using the body lotion and the body wash and holy cow I love it.  It's a little more than I would normally spend on body wash but I can't help it. It smells awesome!  I justify it by telling myself it's cheaper than bath and body lotion :)

Coffemate - Coconut

YUM! that's all I have to say :)

And last but not least...

The Biebs!
I can't believe I've fallen into the Bieber mania but seriously, this song is just so dang catchy!

Benjamin's first day of school

A lot of you already know that David and I have recently been on the hunt for the perfect Daycare for Benjamin.  We have been so very fortunate to have Aunt Alison watch Benjamin but the time has come to part ways.  Alison has watched Benjamin since he was almost 3 months old so it’s pretty safe to say she’s been a big part of his life.  

I remember the last two weeks I had at home with Benjamin on maternity leave like it was yesterday.  To say the thought of leaving my baby to head off to work as being difficult would be a huge understatement.    I remember absolutely dreading the thought of leaving him.  I’m talking daily sob sessions but then I was always easily comforted knowing he was going to be with family that would love on him all day long.  The first day away was definitely rough but I managed to only call to check on him once, not every hour like I had  originally planned :)

This is definitely a big transition but we’re all very excited about it.  We made the decision to enroll at Hope Academy.  They opened their first branch in Creve Coeur and have since opened 4 more locations in St. Charles, Lake St. Louis, Wildwood and Ballwin.  The St. Charles location mixes traditional and Montessori programs and I’m so excited to see him learn and grow there.

Last Thursday was his first day and he did way better than I expected.  He did cry a little bit in the morning but his teacher said it was really easy to distract him and calm him down.  This next week will be his first full week at school so we'll see how things go :) 

Fun Weekend Treats

I've had a giant jar of almonds for about a week, now that we're all starting to feel better I finally got around to turning them into sugar and cinnamon deliciousness :)

It's about 3 cups of almonds, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup water.  Dump it all in a pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar mixture starts to crystallize on the almonds. Lay it out on some parchment paper for about 30 min to cool. Super easy and Super yummy!

Brian and Emma invited us over for a BBQ tonight and I decided to bring these bad boys

I saw them on Gina's SkinnyTaste blog.  I used a different fruit dip though.  I used the fattier version :) A block of cream cheese and 7oz of marsh-mellow cream.  Once again, super easy and super yummy :)  It's probably my new favorite way to eat fruit. I guess it's just more fun on a stick. 

Sick Kiddo Part 2

I feel like I aged about 5 years in the last week.  It's been ROUGH over here at the Carter house.  David and I took turns working from home every day this week so that we could stay home with Benjamin.  I think we're finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel because today is the first day he ate normal food, took a nap, and went to bed without a scream fest.
He's also slobbering like a maniac and chewing on his thumbs so I'm thinking he's teething pretty bad.  He never seemed to be bothered too much by his teeth but this time around it's different.  I tried to take a peek but it's like handling the jaws of death.  He chomps down like a snapping turtle, so it's hard to get a good look.  I can't wait to be done with the antibiotics and the new breathing treatments that we had to start last Friday. 

He definitely didn't like it the first couple of times, but he's getting used to it.  Keep your fingers crossed we only have a couple more days of this :)

Sick Kiddo

Benjamin was sick all weekend and it just wasn't getting any better :( We already had his regular 18 month well visit scheduled for today, but since he seemed to take a turn for the worse today I called the office and moved his appt. up a littler earlier. 
It turns out he has a mild case of pneumonia.  It's probably a better thing that David took him to the appt. b/c I would have had a melt down in the office after hearing that.  Pneumonia sounds super scary.  But apparently it's not all that uncommon and can be treated with antibiotics.  This is the first time we've had to give him prescription medicine.  It absolutely breaks my heart to see him feeling so bad, I wish I could just snap my fingers and make him feel better.  Hopefully these antibiotics really kick in and tomorrow will be a better day.

Third box of tissues we've gone through in the past two days

This look pretty much sums it up.  Poor Guy!

18 month stats:
28lbs - 85th percentile
35in - 97th percentile


He's still growing like a weed! :)

Best Friends

I don't know if it's love or just a matter of feeling defeated, but it seems like Maddie let's Benjamin pretty much do whatever he wants. 

I would love to know what was going through her mind while Mr TONS of fun Benjamin was rolling around on her :)

Cajun Mac & Cheese

I could probably eat Mac & Cheese every single day of my life.  Which is why I think it's crazy that I've only made it from scratch once.
But I think this new recipe tops the last one.  It's the perfect blend of cheese and spice :)

Click HERE   for the recipe.  The only thing I changed were the noodles.  I couldn't find wagon wheel noodles at Schnucks so I went with the fun spirals.  I also left out the sausage.  I still think it was amazing though.  I will definitely add this to my recipe book!

Dresser Update

I really wanted to use drawer liners for the new dresser, even though it seems to be in great condition it still kind of weirds me out to know my stuff will be touching someone elses used drawers. I couldn't seem to find any cute contact paper, so the dresser has been sitting empty since we brought it home.

Then my lovely friend Lauren told me to check out Target.  And guess what people...I found some pretty darn cute contact paper!

I'm very happy I found it but I must admit, I have a love/hate relationship with it.  It is a serious PAIN to cut the right size for each drawer and even more frustrating to lay it down and smooth out any air bubbles.  But I love the final look. Now I don't feel so bad about putting my clothes in the new dresser and I think the design of the contact paper will be cute peeking out from underneath my tee shirts and socks etc.


On a side note...
Can you believe the weather lately?  I love it!  I can't believe we were in the mid 60's yesterday and today.  I love that we've been able to take Benjamin outside to play a lot lately.  And I'm so excited we can start our daily evening walks again.
We took advantage of the weather last weekend and took Benjamin to the park.  He really liked the slides but other than that it was a lot of sprinting from one section to another.  He didn't really stay in one spot for very long.  And he was totally that crazy kid throwing himself on the ground when we tried to leave.  I used to look at parents with kids like that and think...geeeze, get your kid under control.  Oh how different things are now :)  I'll just say we've been doing a lot of time out lately.