Friday, July 26, 2013

Five on Friday - fall wish list

It's a lazy, rainy Friday here and I'm obsessing over fall ((like literally drooling just thinking about my first pumpkin spiced latte of the season)), so I'm dedicating this Five on Friday to my fall wish list!


I started buying fall clothes for Jacob a few weeks ago ((24mo and 2T- can you believe it?!)), which triggered me to spruce-up my fall closet. Here's some of the yummy fall fashions that I've already snagged.

ONE.
Riding boots- the softer the leather, the better. I want to look like I belong on the back of a horse, riding around the English countryside with Kate Middleton and His Magesty Prince George of Cambridge ((best name ever? quite possibly.)). These are a soft dark brown leather, with great buckles and...drum roll please...adjustable calf buckles. Finally! I happen to have "athletic calves", which usually make tall boots impossible to wear. These are the answer to my #biggirlproblems. Thank you, Steve Madden!


TWO.
Gap leggings- yes, they're maternity. Buy a size down and thank me later. These are the softest, thickest, bestest leggings I've ever worn. I originally found them when I was pregnant, and wore them around the house 24/7. But now I just can't get rid of them, and quite honestly- I don't want to. They're perfect!


THREE.
Oversized tanks and tees- especially with aforementioned leggings. They cover up your butt, are comfy and cozy, and look fab with a gorg scarf and pumpkin spiced latte. Nuff said.



FOUR.
Gap sexy boyfriend jeans- I particularly love these with a great pair of leopard print flats. These are my go-to jeans. They are SO comfortable, but still sexy and they pair great with flats, boots, heels and flip flops! The versatility is essential for crazy Texas weather.


FIVE.
Link and Tassel bracelets- one in every color! Yes, please! These are so adorable and can jazz-up any outfit. And dare I say they're a bit festive?!

 


What are YOU eyeing for fall?? I'm dying to refresh my wardrobe, so I'd love to hear from you!
  



Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Advocare 24 day challenge: preview

Alright, folks- we're almost a week away from August 1, which means we're 1 week away from the start of my 24-day Advocare challenge! I'm excited and scared all at the same time.

If you don't know what this is, it's a "comprehensive supplementation and nutrition program" that helps jumpstart your personal health goals. There's lots of pills, shakes, drinks and a meal plan. The first 10 days are a cleanse and the last 14 days are meant to build-up your nutrition and get your body healthy.

My goals for this 24-day challenge are to drop the last 10 pounds of baby weight, tone and get my energy back. I'm so excited to share this journey with you, and will try to post daily with meal tips and updates.

If you want more information about this challenge, you can go here.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Happy 5th Anniversary!

I just realized I wrote this entire post on our actual anniversary, but must not have published it. So, I'm scheduling it for our anniversary even though I'm actually publishing it on 7/23.


Happiest FIFTH anniversary to the most amazing man I know. You have made me the happiest woman alive and I seriously could not ask for more. I say it all the time- but I really could not survive this crazy life without you!

You are a wonderful husband and a terrific father. I love spending every day with you. You are my best friend and soulmate.

Thank you for all that you do. Cheer to another 54615641 years!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Wonder Weeks

I haven't posted about Wonder Weeks before. Probably because it's only on my mind when Jacob is going through one, which means I'm literally keeping him from meltdown status every minute of the day and consuming large quantities of wine once he's asleep. Therefore, I have no time to blog about it.

He's going through one now, his 2nd to last one to be exact, and I realized I hadn't ever mentioned it on my blog! Wowza! Thus, I am posting about it. Because honestly, this has played a HUGE role in Jacob's moods for the entire first year of his life and it continues to. Obviously. Because today he only napped for an hour and 15 minutes, hardly ate and was a total cranky mess all day.

Anywayss.... I've already finished my first glass of wine, so I'll try not to ramble...

Wonder Weeks are pre-determined weeks of a baby's life when they are most likely to go through major mental development. Dr Frans Plooij has spent nearly 40 years researching this and has put it all in his book- The Wonder Weeks.

I read about this during Jacob's first Wonder Week, when I literally thought my baby turned into satan. Turns out he was just learning something new, and his whole world was changing around him and he was totally freaked out. I immediately downloaded the Wonder Week app (go do this now), and have been following this very closely ever since.

It's based on a child's gestational age (or due date), not delivery date, and every child starts them at slightly different times. I know that Jacob always starts his a few days before he's "supposed to" per the app.

Every child is affected differently as well. Jacob is suuuuuper sensitive to every "leap", but I have friends whose kids aren't phased by it.

I really love the iPhone app because it has a really nifty chart that shows you all the weeks in the first 15 months, and when they will be fussy, happy and normal.


They also list all the Wonder Weeks and what new skills they are learning, what symptoms/signs to expect and how to help them through the WW easier.


I literally put these on our household calendar because we ALL need to be aware of it. But truthfully, we've gone through so many now, that I can tell the day he starts a new WW. He's a completely different baby.  He doesn't sleep, eat and isn't content with anything except being held. It's so overwhelming for a stay at home mom and I find it easier when you're mentally prepared and can anticipate it.

I'm praying the next few weeks go by quickly and we all survive. I also hope this has helped someone out there, because I know the first website I read about this certainly helped me!

Good luck, mamas!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

My 29th birthday

Sooo...I turned 29 yesterday. Wahhh!! I only have 365 days in my 20s!! What the hell am I gonna do?! I tell you what- savor it.

 Josh took the day off from work, which pretty much made my day. He didn't have to do anything else and I would've been happy just to have him home. But, being the amazing husband that is he, he did so much more. It was seriously the perfect day!

On Tuesday night, he surprised me with two dozen roses- one from him and one from Jacob. Each with a special little note from each of them. So cute! And he told me that he took the day off and will be home all day! Score!


Sooo...on my actual birthday, we started the day with some delicious pancakes made with love from my awesome husband. He did a good job, wish I would've taken a picture!

He surprised me with an updated chalkboard, too. Haha! He gets an E for effort, for sure.


My sister took me to Seasons 52 for lunch. If you haven't been there, you should seriously go. All the entrees are under 475 calories, the main menu changes seasonally, and there's a weekly menu that changes weekly (duh) too! And they have a superb wine list. It was seriously so delicious!

Jacob went down for his afternoon nap shortly after I got home, and so did mama. We both slept for 2 hours- YAY!! When we woke up, we went to Target for me to pick out my birthday present. Josh had told me that he wanted to get me an iHome (which I've been wanting forever), but he didn't know which one I wanted, so I got to pick it out. I ended up getting this Bose dock for the sound quality. I love it and can see a LOT of dance parties in our future.

After Target, we went to my favorite restaurant, Mi Cocina. I had two mambo taxis (uh oh) and we all really enjoyed ourselves! Jacob loves that place. After we were done with dinner, we let Jacob run around outside by the fountain. He loves chasing the ducks. Hehe.

Mr Mean Mug. I swear he was happy!

When we got home, we took the dogs on a quick walk, and then did bath/bed and Jacob went down for the night. Then we just chilled and I went to bed early. I'm 29 after all, gotta get my beauty sleep!
 
Overall it was the perfect day, and great little break in the week! My parents are coming up this weekend to celebrate, and we get to go on a date night! Double score! I can't wait!
 
Onto the next year of my life...hopefully its a good one! :)

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Jacob's 1st birthday party

I can't believe its already been a month since Jacob's birthday party!!!! Gah! I finally got all the awesome pictures back from our photographer, so I thought I'd share them with you. I was really happy with how everything turned out, and I think all our guests enjoyed themselves too!


I made this adorable ship wheel wreath during nap time one day. I love the way it turned out, and its now hanging in Jacob's bedroom! I bought the ship wheel at Hobby Lobby for like $10 on sale, and used paint pens and stencils to write his name and birth date. Then I free-handed the anchor in the middle. I really hope I can come up with something sweet like this for all my kid's first birthdays (wishful thinking).
 
 
One of my sweet friends, Pege at Coastie Life and Never Forgotten Designs, made all my printables and I'm seriously in love with them. Her husband is in the US Coast Guard and she happens to specialize in USCG announcements and nautical-themed parties are totally up her alley!

 
 
I made the bunting behind the cakes with some washy tape and baker's twine- suuuuuper easy and cheap! I used popsicle sticks to attach it to, and stuck them in sand in mason jars. A small touch to an already lovely cake table.
 
 
I ended up buying both cakes at Market Street. I had planned on making them, but I just couldn't figure out the buttercream icing and we all know I couldn't make a navy anchor. I got both cakes for under $30! Score!
 

We served burgers, hotdogs, potato salad and various chips/dips for lunch. I loved this table- so festive and delicious!
 
 
I can't even tell you how many tears I shed making this sweet banner. It's absolutely incredible to see the transformation our sweet baby made over the course of a year. I can't bear to part with this sucker. For all I know, it'll end up on the walls of our bedroom. I love it that much.
 
As party favors, Jacob gave these cool buckets with shovels, goldfish and bubbles! A fun way to incorporate the nautical/ocean theme.

 

Here's Jacob's pile of presents. This kid is blessed beyond measure with the sweetest friends and best family! I hope he felt the love that day, because it was certainly all around.

 
Now, onto the actual party....
 
We started the party with some mingle time and food.
 


 
Thankfully the weather was gorgeous that afternoon, so a lot of people hung out in the backyard. We set up the water table and chairs outside for some fun in the sun for the kiddos.
 
 

 
 

The grill master hard at work...


Two of my sweet friends and their daughters (aka Jacob's girlfriends). I loved how the dressed up in theme for the party. So festive!


Jacob with our neighbor, Mrs. Cheryl. She is hands-down the best neighbor and adopted grandma (Mimi) and kid could ask for! Love her!


We opened presents next, and let me tell you- this little boy had so much fun!! It was such a difference from Christmas. He got so excited with each present and wanted to stop and play with everything. I loved watching him!




 
Last we did cake. I cleaned up blue/green poop in Jacob's diaper for a week. So disgusting, but so worth it! Haha!
 


  

Clean up afterwards. Everyone pretty much cleared out while we were washing him up. He wanted to play in the bath foreverrrrr. Per usual.

 
And last, but certainly not least, a picture of our sweet little family. I am forever grateful for these guys. They make my world go 'round. My cup runneth over. Thank you, God!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Jacob - 13 months

This month has been incredible. My baby turned into a toddler overnight and what a complete joy he is! Oh my goodness- every single day he gets more fun and learns new things. It's so incredible. A true miracle!

Since I don't have monthly stickers that go through the second year (he wouldn't keep the stickers on anyways), I'll just attempt a quick photo sesh each month in the same chair.


 
Age: 13 months
Height: 31.5" -- just a guess, we don't go back to the pedi until 15mo.
Weight: 24.5lbs -- I weighed him on our scale at home, but its kinda janky.
Milestones: Gosh, I don't really even know what major milestones to expect after walking. He is like a sponge- watching and imitating everything. He's practically running now, sometimes he stumbles (especially if he's sleepy) but most of the time he's pretty dang quick! He loves to screw the caps on every bottle in this house. It's so cute! He loves going outside and exploring the backyard. He's started taking the hose attachment thingy and "watering" the plants- too cute for words!
Sleep: He's consistently sleeping through the night now- generally he goes 8-7 (lately until 8am!) and takes two naps for a total of 3 hours. When I stopped breastfeeding, I obviously had to stop nursing him to sleep, so now we just hold him and sing him a song, turn out his lights, turn on his sound machine and put him down. And he falls to sleep completely on his own. What a relief for us!
Eating: He's not breastfeeding anymore, and thankfully he's replaced the breastmilk with cow's milk. He drinks about 15oz of 2% milk each day. We generally offer it at every meal and after he wakes up in the morning and from each nap. I love watching him slurp it up, I think he really likes it! He's eating 3 solid meals each day, and 1 snack time when he wakes up from his afternoon nap. Meals are pretty much the same, although I've been trying to incorporate more of our meals into his.
Clothes size: 18 months - 2T
Diaper size: Size 5 Cruisers
Best Moment: We've had such a fun month! He went to the splash pad for the first time, and that was fun to watch. He was skeptical of all the water at first, but I think he started to like it. And I'm looking forward to taking him back.
Worst Moment: He's been teething a lot lately, so he gets kinda cranky and clingy. But I don't mind the snuggles!
Favorite toy: I'm slowly opening all of his birthday presents, so he gets obsessed with whatever toy I open...for like a day...and then he's over it. Haha. Currently, he's loving this farm animal mashup.
Teeth: He has the top 4 and bottom 2. I think he's cutting his 1 year molars right now, because he's been a cranky mess!
Looking forward to: Nothing in particular. Summer in general is just so much fun with him! Especially because he loves spending time outside and in the water. Love this little boy!

crazy kid climbing all over the place

Friday, July 5, 2013

Recipe - loaded baked potato casserole



One of my girlfriend's served this loaded baked potato salad at a party recently and I literally had three servings. It was so delicious. I immediately asked for the recipe and she said it was a Rachel Ray recipe. How did I forget about Rachel Ray?? What an adorable lady! Anyways, she said she likes it hot, unlike the recipe which says to serve it room-temp. I tend to agree with her, so I changed things up a bit. I also didn't use the quantity listed, so here's my recipe.

Ingredients
4lbs red potatoes (I bought one of those 5lb bags of red potatoes, and cooked about 3/4 of them)
1lb bacon
1 stick butter, melted
24oz sour cream
1 bushel green onion, chopped
1lb shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Directions
1) Wash and poke potatoes, place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 for an hour. They will get nice and soft, and the skin will start to brown. This is good. Remove potatoes and let cool for an hour or so.
2) Slice raw bacon into 1 inch pieces and cook real good.
3) Put melted butter, sour cream, chopped green onion, cooked bacon and half the cheese into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4) Cut cooled potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place in 9x13 baking dish. Pour butter/sour cream mixture on top and mix in with the potatoes really good.
((At this point, I covered the dish and put it in the fridge for awhile because we weren't ready to start cooking yet. You can obviously do that, or jump to the next step if you're ready to eat!))
5) Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until everything is bubbling and melted.
6) Once done, remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top and let it melt.
7) Try not to eat the entire thing at one sitting. Enjoy and good luck.
 

Five on Friday - hello Bloglovin'!

One of my favorite bloggers, Darci at The Good Life, started doing "Five on Friday" a few Fridays ago and I really enjoy reading them! It's a fun way to share things that have been floating around in my mind, or just to update y'all on what's been happing around here.

So, here it goes...my First Five on Friday! (alliteration alley over here)


ONE.
We had such a fun 4th of July! I mentioned earlier in my howthehellisitjulyalready post, I'm such a fan of July 4th. Like #1 fan. It's such a great American holiday. It epitomizes everything great about America- delicious food, warm weather, fun in the sun, brewskies, family time and fireworks. If I could bottle up this day and open it when I'm feeling blue, I would. It's that good.

Anywayss...back to the recap- our day was pretty uneventful, as most holidays are becoming with a kid (more on that later), but we did have some quality family time, which I enjoy more than anything. We took the dogs down to the lake and fed the ducks in the morning, J took a long-azz nap before lunch, then we went swimming, J took another long-azz nap (we actually had to wake him up), then grilled-out with my sister and FBIL (future-brother-in-law). Josh made his bomb.com burgers and I made this delicious potato salad. I changed it up a bit (actually a lot). It ended up like more of a loaded baked potato casserole, so I'll post my recipe shortly.

And last, but certainly not least, Jacob wore the most adorable outfit in the history of outfits. I had been gathering fun and festive pieces for awhile, and I think it came together nicely. I was also super excited that he actually wore that fedora for more than a millisecond. I could seriously eat him.


 
TWO.
Last night as I laid on the couch watching the NYC fireworks at 8:30, contemplating going to bed and praying none of my neighbors blew off their own fireworks and woke my sleeping baby, I thought about how incredibly different holidays have become now that we have a niño. Don't get me wrong, I love my kid more than anything else in this world and I certainly would not change a thing, but wow- holidays are lame now.

I can remember our first 4th of July, back in 2007, we took travel coffee mugs full of wine to the fireworks. Hahahahahhaha.

This year, the highlight of my day were these awesome bombpop champagne cocktails. I literally got a buzz off one. Wah wah.
THREE.
I think I've mentioned it before, but my sister is a Camp Gladiator trainer. If y'all don't already know, Camp Gladiator is an outdoor bootcamp. They whoop your azz for 60 minutes in the blazing heat, by switching-up workouts every session and creating an environment where men and women of all ages and fitness levels can push themselves without feeling judged or inadequate.

My sister started as a trainer shortly after J was born, and I just didn't have the bandwidth to partake in her torture at the time. But now that I'm not breastfeeding anymore and don't feel quite so "tied down", I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I had such an amazing first experience, and I highly recommend this to everyone. It's more than a workout- and quite frankly, I didn't even notice that I was actually working out. Granted, there were some times I thought my legs would give out, but I was truly enjoying myself. Not only did I get a good workout (from which I'm still sore, 4 days later), but I got some Vitamin D and fresh air! Double win, if you ask me! Go here to check for a location in your area.

 
FOUR.
If you missed it, I'm officially on Bloglovin'! You should follow me 'cause right now I have 0 followers. Ha! My main goal for this blog is to keep family and friends updated on our day-to-day, but I also want to share our journey with others. And maybe, just maybe, I can inspire, encourage, help and/or motivate someone. Let the good times roll...

FIVE.
And now for my weekly rant. Two things...

My iPhone has been on the fritz for about a week. Everything works perfectly, except the speaker for the music. When someone actually calls me, it rings, but I can't hear friggin' music! What a pain in my azz! I've started running with Jacob in the mornings, and I've really started feeling good and getting into a groove. And running without music is seriously the pits. Especially because I'm obsessed with this new Miley Cyrus song, and all I want to do is put it on repeat and sweat it out!

We've decided we're buying each other a new mattress for our anniversary. Sigh. How old are we, seriously?! Our current mattress was an "early wedding present" from Josh. LOL! Lame! Mattress shopping might be the suckiest thing ever, right behind car shopping. Woof! Anyways, I'm really looking forward to a good nights sleep, and getting rid of our mattress that seriously has valleys in it like the grand canyon. I'll update everyone on what we settle with, I'm sure it'll be a riveting post.


Well, folks- that's it for this edition of Five on Friday. My kid only managed to swallow 3 pieces of dog food, so I'd say it was a success all around!

Until next time...Have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!

Bloglovin'

Alright, folks- I'm taking my next step into the blogging world by joining Bloglovin'.  I joined today and I'm in love with it! Such a great consolidation of all my favorite blogs.

I've been making the slow transition into the blogging world, and I'm really enjoying it. It's a great outlet for me and I hope others will enjoy this crazy ride with me!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

My breastfeeding story & weaning the bub

Sweet milk drunk baby
How important is breastfeeding to me? Extremely important.

Which is shocking, because if you had asked me that question when I was pregnant- I would've told you that I was terrified to breastfeed and had no clue how long I'd be able to do it. I was more scared of breastfeeding than I was of labor and delivery!

How do you actually do it?! How do I know if the baby is getting enough to eat?! What if he doesn't like the taste?! What if my boobs hurt?! What if I don't produce enough?!

I literally racked my brain over it the entire 9 months I was pregnant.

And with his first latch, I was quickly reminded that God is at work here. Jacob latched amazingly the very first time and we had no issues in that department.

We did, however, have issues with oversupply and a fast letdown. I can tell you during that first month, there were numerous times when I thought I was choking my baby. It was so scary to hear him choke and gag. My solution was to hand express or pump a little bit before each feeding. Enough to ease the letdown, but not start it. In other words, you want your baby to trigger the letdown not your hand. After a few weeks, my body regulated.

Soon after that, we found out Jacob had reflux and a dairy intolerance. I cut out most dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc., but I still ate foods that had dairy in it), any food that made me gassy, and spicy foods. It seemed to make a huge difference in Jacob's temperament. I slowly reintroduced those foods into my diet around the 6 month mark, and never noticed a difference.

After the first 3 months, it was smooth sailing. We continued to nurse every 2-3 hours for the first 9 months, then started on an EASY schedule (eat, activity, sleep, you time). I found this to be a huge game-changer. It helped us develop a routine/schedule, and I noticed he slept better with a more rigid schedule- he knew what to expect, etc.

Now, onto weaning...

Around the 10 month mark, I started cutting out nursing sessions. At that point, he was nursing 5x/day- morning, after morning nap, after afternoon nap, bedtime and once at night.

I started by cutting the nighttime feed, for obvious reasons. I was exhausted and he didn't need those calories. I noticed that when we stopped feeding him at night, he ate better during the day. This is obviously a huge transition for the baby and it definitely involved a lot of crying.

At 11-months, I cut the nursing after morning nap. This was super easy- just don't feed him! Hehe! I noticed that he was hungry around that time, so we just started eating lunch then. Sometimes it means that we eat a little early, but it works for us.

Around 11.5-months, I cut the nursing after his afternoon nap. This, again, was super easy.  I introduced snack time at this time, and he didn't even seem phased by it!

So, if you're following...on his first birthday, I was still nursing him 2x/day- morning and night. I was really nervous about these last 2 feedings.

About 2 weeks after his birthday, I cut the morning feeding. I would've done it earlier, but he was teething like a mad man and I felt bad. I suggest doing this over a weekend when dad is around and can help. Josh went in on Saturday and Sunday with this straw cup of milk. Jacob wasn't really drinking much cow's milk at that point, but our pediatrician told us to just keep offering it. Well, just as I was told- when I didn't offer breastmilk, he made up for it with cow's milk! Thank goodness!

Then, 2 weeks after that- around his 13-month birthday, we cut the bedtime nursing. I was terrified, to say the least. We did this over the weekend again, as I expected tons of tears and knew that I could make up for lack of sleep over the weekend. Boy was I wrong! Again, he wasn't even phased! Sheesh! No tears at all. Thank GOODNESS! We did our normal bedtime routine, and when I would typically plop into the rocker and nurse him, I just passed him off to Josh. Josh rocked him for a few minutes (maybe 5) and sang a song and put him down. He literally didn't even cry. AT. ALL. Wow! I let Josh do this for the first 3 nights, and will continue to let him do it occasionally because I don't want Jacob to get used to one of us putting him down. I want him to be comfortable with anyone putting him down.

So, as of now- a few days before his 13-month birthday, he is completely off breastmilk. He hasn't totally replaced the breastmilk with cow's milk yet. My pediatrician told me he should be drinking 16-20oz of cow's milk each day, if he's getting diary elsewhere (which he is). I offer milk every time he wakes up and at meal times. And he gets water throughout the day.

Breastfeeding is such a tough journey that requires dedication and patience. If you are able to breastfeed, I seriously recommend it. You'll grow to love it, you really will.
 

Monday, July 1, 2013

How on Earth is it July? ...and a weekend recap

I'll say it again...HOW ON EARTH IS IT ALREADY JULY??? It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating J-bird's birthday. Time is literally flying by. I feel old.

July is hands-down my favorite month of the year. Not only is it the heart of summer and everything good (I am obsessed with fun in the sun and all that comes with summer, except the 100 degree temps), but my birthday is in July and our wedding anniversary. Too much fun packed into the month. Before we set our wedding date, I made my husband promise me that we'd never combine my birthday and our anniversary celebrations and we'd always celebrate them separately. And every year he jokes that one present is sufficient. Well, its not. Ha!

Anywayss....We had a super fun weekend. Friday we made yummy homemade pizza and I officially stopped breastfeeding (more on that in a separate post). You know what that means- pass the vino! I was an emotional train wreck, so wine was definitely on the menu Friday evening.

Saturday we spent the day around the house, and had a little family grill out that night. My sister and future-brother-in-law came over, and we made hotdogs, ribs, beans, grilled cucumber (you read that right- cucumber. and it was delicious), and brownie-a-la-modes for dessert. Such a fun day! I even got a little nap in while floating in the pool. Perfect way to get some sun and rest! You might remember my awesome solution for our pool dilemma, or should I say lack of pool dilemma.

This picture is from awhile back, but you get the idea...

Sunday we went for a family run in the morning, during which time my phone freakin' broke. Arg! I spent 2 hours at the Apple store, only for them to tell me that they can't fix it and my phone isn't under warranty anymore so they can't replace it either. Doube arg!!

I made a delicious pot of spaghetti and meatballs Sunday night. I used this Paula Deen recipe y'all (I have to say y'all every time I mention Paula Deen, which has been quite frequent as of late) and it was the best spaghetti + meatballs I've ever had! Josh agreed, which really means something. I'll never make any other spaghetti recipe again. It was that good. I took Paula's tips at the bottom, and made the meatballs the day before and removed some onions about half-way through the cooking process. Delish.

This week is a 4-day week- holler! And its one of the best weeks of the year- the week of FOURTH OF JULY! It's my all-time favorite holiday and we plan to have a BLAST this year. Literally. I plan to make these bombpop champagne cocktails, which were the genius idea of Jessica over at Little Baby GarvinSo festive and fun! 

Little Baby Garvin

I start Camp Gladiator tomorrow evening, so be ready for a rant post Wednesday morning about how sore and pathetic I am. Ha.