Being a Mom and learning to balance

Being a work at home mom (WAHM) I have had to learn to balanced many things. All day is Liam time and as soon as he goes to bed I get to work. This can be hard because I truly never get a couple of hours to myself to watch TV or read a book. I actually have only read 2 books this year. I realized this a couple of days ago and thought I really should make an hour a day to just read or watch TV( or do something else relaxing). This means I can not deliver photos at the speed of light, but I think it will help my sanity. I am so lucky to have the full month of August booked with all kinds of photos: wedding, family, senior, and engagement! The past couple of weeks have been rough my whole family has been sick at the same time! We are getting better, but Liam and me are still struggling. The only good thing about being sick is it forced me to chill out. I realized I never take a break and it might be a good idea for me to start trying. Although, I try to balance everything it really is impossible and once you realize that life gets way easier. Some things have to be ignored until you find time (Liam excluded) and lately its been making dinner and cleaning. I saw an interview with Rachel Ray when Liam was about 3 months old being asked the question how do you balance everything.  Obviouslybeing the mother of a 3 month old still trying to figure things out was sure a woman who owns several different business and host her own TV show would know. Rachel's answers was  "I don't and I don't think you need to. You can not do it all and if you try to you will just fail." For some reason that made me feel way better about not doing the dishes everyday.  So this week I am keeping in mind that balance is not everything, except in Yoga! : )


Below is my go to recipe when you are not feeling well, enjoy!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

What You Need

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces
• 1 Can of Mixed Veggies ( drained)
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• pinch of salt

What To Do

Place all ingredients in the crock pot except biscuits.

Cover and cook on low for 5 – 6 hours.

About 2 hours before serving tear up the biscuit dough ( into 1/4ths) and place in the crock pot. I used all the biscuits but you can only use half. Make sure the “dumplings” are cooked through.

The chicken should be so tender that it will pull apart when you scoop it out of the crock pot.

Enjoy

Letter's to Liam-21 months

Dear Liam,

You are 21 months old, in three more months you will be 2!! I cant believe it. You are repeating everything at the speed of light. You now know body parts which include: head, shoulder, knees, toes, eyes, nose and mouth. You can count to 3 and repeat letters when I go over the alphabet with you (we are going to work more on this in months to come since you are repeating everything!!) You love playing with cars they are your favorite thing. You go around racing saying vroom vroom! We go on walks almost every morning to the park where you talk to the birds and doggies by pointing each one out! I can now read books to you and keep your attention because you love to repeat everything I am saying! You are so loving, you give hugs and kisses and today you started blowing kisses which is beyond cute! You are starting to say Mommy instead of MaMa and still are huge Daddy's boy. When your Daddy gets home you run to him and give him a hug repeating Daddy Daddy!! I love watching you two together you are the best of friends, but when it comes to when your hurt or scared your all about Mommy. I can not believe my eyes sometimes with how fast you are growing. You are starting to look more like a little boy than a baby which makes me a little sad, but proud at the same time. There is no one that could be more proud of you than me and your Daddy. You are the best Liam Matthew, I love you to the moon and back!!

Love,

Mommy

7-15-2012

Weekend Fun

This weekend we decided to head off to Myrtle Beach and check out the Aquarium. Liam had such a great time and so did we. Afterwards we went and checked out some of the rides on the boardwalk. For dinner we went to Medieval Times. Liam was very fascinated by the sword fights and horses! We were really tired when we got home, but the good news is Liam slept until 9 the next day and so did I (this never happens). I am really glad we got out of Wilmington for a day it’s always nice to have a change in scenery!

Liam jumping in the pool!

Liam loves jumping in the pool!! He has so much fun and I always get a longer nap out of this and a good arm workout! : )

28th birthday and Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

My 28th birthday was great. We celebrated at a restaurant called East located in a hotel on Wrightsville Beach called Blockade Runner. Since East is an upscale restaurant I was a little nervous taking Liam with us, but he did great! We got really lucky there was actually a 1 year olds birthday going on! Bubbles were being blown and he was very entertained. After dinner I let him run around on the grassy area overlooking the beach and play with the balls the hotel provided for children. Every year my Dad and me celebrate together since our birthday is a day apart. In 1984 I was his birthday present and he always says it’s the best gift he was ever given. Now that I have my own child I really believe him! The coolest part about this birthday is that I am now the same age my Dad was in 1984 when we shared our first birthday celebration together! This year I made cupcakes and ordered a cake from Whole Foods. Below is the recipe for the Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes. **Very important these are time consuming since you have to freeze batter overnight, but they are worth the extra effort!!

                                                               
                                                                   28 years old!!! : )

                                                       
                                                                   Family dinner!

                                                                       Mom, Dad and me

                                                             Blowing our candles out 28 and 56!

                                                             Me and my boys!!

                                                                        Birthday Cake

                                                   Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes.

Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
with Outrageously Rich Chocolate Indulgence Frosting

BROWNIE BATTER
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup milk
1 (18.25 oz) box devil’s food cake mix
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 mins until well combined. Using a small scoop (about 1.5 tbsp) drop batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze overnight.
CUPCAKES
1 (18.25 oz) box devil’s food cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) pkg Jello instant chocolate fudge pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and line with cupcake liners. Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips into a very large bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 mins until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a large scoop (about 3 tbsp) drop batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 2/3rds full. Remove brownie batter from freezer and press into the cupcake batter. Bake for 22-28 mins. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING
5 sticks butter, softened
8 oz powdered sugar
1.5 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)
a pinch of table salt
1.5 cups light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz milk chocolate chips
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring well every 30 seconds. Allow to cool for 5-10 mins. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, about 5-10 seconds. Scrape the bowl again, then add the melted chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, about 10-15 seconds. You can use a mixer for this too, if you don’t have a food processor, just don’t whip the butter too much! :) Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
Makes & frosts 36 cupcakes.
See pictures and recipe details at the below link:
http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/brownie-batter-chocolate-fudge-cupcakes.html

Beginning of Summer Fun and the Perfect Pound Cake

We have some great news we sold our house!! We are so excited and to celebrate I made us a pound cake. This recipe is from Pioneer Woman and it uses 7up. If you are looking for an easy and delicious pound cake this one is it!! Today marked the beginning of our summer fun activities. We listed all the fun stuff Jason and I want to do with Liam this summer and put them on popsicle sticks. When we are finished we put the stick in the We Did It jar. Today was ride a bike and since Liam did not have a bike I thought this would  happen more towards the end of summer. Today we went to goodwill. We go every week and I get almost brand new toys and clothes for Liam. When we walked into the store I saw this Radio Flyer bike and had to get it for him. Liam actually would never have let me leave the store without it. As soon as he saw it he got on and stayed on it the entire time. Normally I have to chase him around, but not today thanks to his new Radio Flyer bike. We played outside as soon as we got home and he got to show it off to his Daddy. What a great way to start our summer fun!!



Recipe: Perfect Pound Cake

Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 1 Hour | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 12

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Ingredients

• 3 sticks Butter
• 3 cups Sugar
• 5 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Butter Flavoring
• 2 teaspoons Lemon Flavoring
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Sprite, 7-UP, Or Sierra Mist

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition. Add butter and lemon extracts and mix well. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add soft drink, then mix together until combined. Scrape sides of bowl, then mix briefly.
Pour into a greased Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until the cake is no longer jiggly.
Remove cake from oven and invert pan until cake drops out. Slice and chow down!

Yum!!

Pirate Ship, Zoo, and Blueberry Breakfast Cake

This past week we went to see the MS Bounty which is docked on the Cape Fear River. Liam and Jason had so much fun checking out the pirate ship. This ship was in the movie Pirate of the Caribbean so it was really cool to get to check it out. We also got to take Liam to the Zoo for the first time. He really loved it his favorite was the Syrian Bear. When he saw the bear he said "whoa". He is learning so many new words he literally repeats anything you say. A woman was talking about monkeys and he started saying monkey! The zoo even had some animals roaming around free like peacocks. Since it is blueberry season I went and bought a pint of blueberries from the Lewis Strawberry Farm stand near my house. I used some for my fruit salad I make every week and the rest for a yummy blueberry breakfast cake. Below is the recipe. Also if you don't have buttermilk in your house you can make it ( I always do) you just mix a little under a cup of Milk and one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice.


Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Serves 6-8
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk
* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

                                                                  Hey Mr. Peacock

                                                                Liam the Lion

                                                         Looking for treasure on the MS Bounty

                                                               The MS Bounty

                                                                      My Boys!

                                                                   Cutest Pirate I have ever seen!

                                                                      Blueberry Breakfast Cake