Weekly Menu Board

I pinned both of these ideas to a board on Pinterest a few weeks ago and have really wanted to make one for our newly refinished kitchen. 

Dry Erase Board Idea #1

Dry Erase Board Idea #2

I didn't really love either one, so I meshed the ideas and love it now!

I think we'll get a lot of use out of it, but we'll see!

What do you think? Would you use something like this in your house?

xoxo

Momma B

Scarf Organization

I looooooooooooove scarves! I get so sad when summer rolls around and I have to put them away. I was having a hard time keeping them organized and out of the way. Untillllllllll..... I got this scarf hanger for Christmas and it has worked wonders!

It simply hangs in my closet, out of the way, and keeps my scarves off the floor. You can't see all of my scarves in this picture (and I fully admit that this is by far the hardest thing I've tried to take a picture of), but you get the gist of it. 

Do you love scarves as much as I do?! 

How do you keep yours organized?

Just for fun...

I think we're all going a little stir crazy now that it's been consistantly unpleasant to be outside for an extended amount of time. Nick had Evan outside for just a couple of minutes this afternoon to roll around in his Little Tikes truck. The fresh air was so good for him!

xoxo

Momma B

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Cheeseburger Quesadilla

Say what?! 

CHEESEBURGER QUESADILLA

I don't know about you, but we always have ground beef around here and seem to always have leftover taco shells. I got the idea from a Rainbow Foods add, and decided to do it 'my way'. These are easy and surprising good!

You'll need:

1 lb Ground beef

1/2 Cup diced onion

2 Tablespoons seasoning (I used McCormick Hamburger)

4 Medium taco shells, each with one buttered side

2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

Serves 4 quite comfortably.

Brown your ground beef with onions.

 Season with McCormick Hamburger.

Heat a flat skillet to medium and place one taco shell (butter side down) on skillet and sprinkle a little bit of cheese. This will help the shells stick together and make for easy flipping.

Top with beef.

And more cheese.

And then another taco shell (butter side up).

Sizzle to perfection on both sides.

Repeat with other two taco shells. And eat!

Try with ketchup and mustard. 

I'm not a fan of condiments, so I ate mine plain jane.

xoxo

Momma B

High Five For Friday

It's Friday and we're going to try something new by 

linking up with Lauren for High Five for Friday.

High Five For Friday

Here's five of my favorite things from this week:

1. Nick has been in Maryland all week for work and came home today!

2. My new Essie Big Spender nail polish that I cannot WAIT to try out!

3. This week's book -- The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

So far, so good. The movie comes out in April!

4. Desitin Maximum Strength

I'm such a mom, but this stuff is a life saver. Evan has his first ever bad diaper rash (he got another tooth) this week. We've only ever used Aquaphor, but that wasn't cutting it so we tried this and it did the trick. QUICK!

5. My mom

I couldn't have gotten through this week without her. (Let's be honest now, I don't know what I would do without her EVERY DAY!) She picked Evan up from daycare so I didn't have to change my hours at work this week and even had him fed by the time I got home!

Cheers to the freakin' weekend!

xoxo

Momma B

Great Dads Get Promoted to Grandpa

I was looking through pictures on my phone and forgot that I took this one a few days ago. 

Evan's best friend is 'papa'. I love it and I hope you do too!

I get verbally abused if I don't post at least every few days, so I figured I better get posting. I haven't done a damn thing all week, so watch for something earth shattering this weekend. #dontholdyourbreath

On the bright side, my nails from LAST FRIDAY still look FAB-U-LOUSSSSSSSSSS!

xoxo

Momma B

How to Raise a Reader

I get a weekly email from Baby Center and in this week's edition there was a link about kids and reading. It's a great reminder about why reading is so important and I strongly believe that teaching your kids to love reading is an essential part of parenting. And I'm not just saying that because I love to read! 

Here's Baby Center's list on How to Raise a Reader:

Use books to bond

Set up a ritual

Choose appropriate books

Repeat, repeat, repeat

Ham it up

Follow their interests

Go to the library

Push play

Don't make books a reward

Dealing with the wigglers

Make storytelling a part of life

Point out words everywhere

Talk

Demonstrate your own love of books

Your child will never appreciate you for teaching them to play video games or Angry Birds, but I can guarantee that your child will appreciate you for teaching them how to read and doing it well. Books can be expensive, but there is no excuse for excluding reading in a child's life when there are libraries and stores such as Half Price Books. I read to Evan every night when I was pregnant and as much as I could since he arrived. Just recently though has he started to go get books and sit in my lap while I read to him. His attention span is short, but I am always available when he comes with a book! Dr. Seuss is his favorite and I make sure to play up the silly phrases with goofy voices and faces.

Photos taken by Katie Brock Photography

For those of you who love to read too:

My aunt introduced me to Good Reads a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it! Keep track of books you've read, are currently reading and books you want to read. You can rate books and it even gives you recommendations. Let's be friends!

xoxo

Momma B

Hair, Makeup, Nails

I don't normally do reviews on here, but some things are just worth sharing. Now any store can get me into serious trouble with our bank account, but there are a select few that really make my husband want to pull his (and my) hair out. Ulta is on that list. I am a hair, makeup and nail snob (or maybe just a snob in general), but there truly are things that are well worth the money. I'm a sucker for recommendations and that's how I've found most of my favorite products. Although most are simply trial and error. 

My first gem I want to share with you is essie 3-way glaze. If this isn't part of your collection, you better get your butt to Ulta! For the last several years, the only polish I would put on my nails is OPI, but essie is slowly making its way into my heart! I don't know about you, but a weekly manicure won't be making its way into my budget for awhile and acrylic nails are not my style, so I have to find the right products to get the job done myself. 

essie 3-way glaze and OPI Miami Beet

I'm going on two full days with perfectly shiny nails that are scuff and chip free! 

How?! It's quite a lengthy process, my friend, but so worth it!

Clip, buff and shape your nails. Wash and dry. Evenly put a coat of essie 3-way glaze on each nail and let them dry (I wait about 30 minutes). Now evenly put a coat of colored polish on each nail. I wait several hours or overnight to add a second coat. Then I let coat number 2 dry for about an hour before adding my final coat of glaze. Be PATIENT and try not to touch anything! I promise, it's worth it! And just for good measure, I usually add another coat of glaze around day 3.  

The second gem you should know about is Ulta's Amped Lashes mascara. While my makeup of choice is Pur Minerals, Ulta makeup has come a long way over the years and I'm finding more and more of it creeping into my makeup stash. I think mascara is the hardest thing to find and I have found myself in tears so many times because I've spent $20 on a mascara that was a 'sure thing' and ended up absolutely hating it! Maybe I'm just picky, but with blonde eye lashes I really count on mascara to get me through the day! I love Amped Lashes because it dries soft (not hard and crunchy like so many other mascaras) and it doesn't flake off or clump my lashes together. SCORE!

And since we're on the topic, I'll give you a glimpse into what's in my hair at any given moment. I won't go into detail about any of these, but just know that they all serve a purpose and are near and dear to my heart!  :)

I realize that this post could be a serious hit or miss, but I love reading about this stuff on other blogs so I figured I would give it a whirl! Feel free to let me know if it was a bad choice and I'll gladly replace it with more photos of my adorable little boy.  ;)

xoxo

Momma B

Chopped

We're all sick around here, so this post is going to be short tonight...

Evan's baby hair is gone! 

I have not even trimmed it and now he has officially had his first hair cut! 

It was getting ridiculously long, so Nick cut it while Evan was in the tub last night.

[It may need some TLC from a professional ;)]

before

left = uncut
right = cut

after

These next pictures are just for fun. 

Evan got this dog for his birthday and he loves it. 

I can't help but laugh watching the dog trek behind him as he drags it around the house every night!

Is it cold enough out there for you?!

I was at Target yesterday and scored Evan a new 4in1 winter coat for $9 (Originally $32.99).

I rock!

xoxo

Momma B

New Year. New..... Kitchen?!

I realize that I have been completely slacking lately. We started our kitchen remodel just after the new year and  it has pretty much consumed all of our time. It's finally DONE (with the exception of some decorations that should be coming in the mail any day now)! I've been begging for a change since we bought the house in June 2009 and my hubby finally agreed! I don't have any 'before' pictures for you since they would give me nightmares. Trust me when I say that it was AWFUL! It's not anything fancy and it's probably tied (with the rest of the similar houses on my block) for World's Smallest Kitchen, but we were only 20 when we bought our first house and had no idea what we were doing! It works and it's ours, so that's all that really matters!  :)

Here ya go, with a few pictures of Evan since I took the pictures during his afternoon snack:

Watching dinner bake. Homemade lasagna! YUM!

 This was my 'big' project in the kitchen. I found this sign and didn't like the color, but I really like it now after some paint and sanding: I did the same thing to the 'cheers' sign in the window.

Before

After

My firm was closed today for the holiday and I have to say that I don't mind a day off! I kept Evan home from daycare and got to spend the whole day with my little man. It's amazing what you can get done in an day! We went shopping for a baby gift, made LASAGNA and I even got my nails painted! The only thing left on today's to-do list is to watch some TV and eat dessert!  ;)

xoxo

Momma B

Parrrrrrty!

Yesterday was a great time and I know that Evan had fun! 

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us.

I was busy with the party and didn't pay as much attention to taking pictures as I would have liked, 

but I did get a few. 

Miss Jade is just two days older than Evan. We can't wait for her party next weekend!

The only present he opened on his own. Stinker!

Evan's friend, Miss Kylianne.

Reunion!

Evan and Jody

Evan and Auntie Molly

Evan and Auntie Carie

Evan and Steve

Evan and Steve Jr

Evan and Papa!

 After a good nap, Evan was ready to play with all of his new toys. He loves them!

For the second year in a row I was asleep before midnight. Maybe next year!  ;)

Happy New Year!

xoxo

Momma B