Brooke Update

I can't believe that I haven't updated the blog in two months, but we have been very busy. Kyle is busy with work, grading speeches, and grading papers. He is currently busy getting ready for finals and trying to make a beautiful outside space for Brooke and I to hang out for the summer.

I have been busy writing my thesis and I am so excited to be done!

Brooke has officially entered the crazy toddler stage. She loves to just run around the house making crazy screaming sounds and fake laugh sounds. She is hilarious! She is talking up a storm and can repeat any word we ask her to say and is speaking in sentences. She can say her numbers up to 10 and we are practicing her colors. She can sing parts of the ABC song and loves to play in the water, even if it is cold- my little fish already. She loves to sing, read, Bernard, and coloring.

She loves play-doh and riding her bike too! Her hair is getting longer, finally, and I am having fun putting it in pony tails. She is so sweet and such a good girl. We love her so much and feel so blessed to have been picked by God to shepherd her to know and love Jesus.

She loves ice cream and asks for it everyday. She doesn't love green beans or watermelon. She doesn't like food too spicy and will spit it out and rub her tongue for a little while, kind of funny! She is really good at using her spoon and fork for most things, but there are some things that I still let her use her hands.

She is waking up anywhere between 5:30- 6:30 and it seems pretty early for me. We have tried putting her to bed later, but that doesn't work. In fact she woke up at 5am the morning after we put her down at 8:15am. Needless to say we are back to 7:30-7:45pm bedtime.

Easter

Brooke loved dying Easter eggs and man did she get messy! We let her get hands on with the egg dye. We practiced colors during the activity and she has decided that every color is blue. She is getting better at recognizing pink too though!


Easter was very nice and quiet. We got up went to church, ate at a Mexican restaurant and came home to have an Easter egg hunt. Brooke loved looking for Easter eggs, but I was sad that she was doing it all by herself. I remember as kid loving getting together with my cousins and looking for eggs and at Grandma's house. It would have been nice to be with family, but even so it was a nice quiet Eater celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. We read Brooke the story and discussed the importance of Easter with her. I am sure she didn't get it, but she picks up the book and says Jesus. It's amazing how she knows what books talk about Jesus. Even books that she has never read before she will pick up and say Jesus; I think it's because he looks the same in all the pictures.

Valentines Day

We had nice and quiet Valentines Day this year. Kyle and I had done our celebration last weekend, but we did rent a movie and I surprised him with his favorite blizzard from Dairy Queen. He didn't have to work and we enjoyed spending the day together at home. I worked in the evening or I would have made him a special dinner.



Brooke got the cutest skirt for her Birthday and then Kyle's cousin made her the cutest bow for Valentines Day that just so happened to match perfectly! We took some pictures, but couldn't find the greatest lighting. Even so, I think she looks pretty adorable. The sweetest Valentine EVER!

Brooke has a friend over

This morning Brooke had her first friend come over to our house; we usually visit others at their house or at the park.
I knew it would be different because someone else would be playing with her toys, but she did such a great job! I was so proud of her; she shared so well and didn't get upset if Sophia wanted her toys.
I think she actually loved having someone to play with at her house, because she laughed and smiled most of the time. Here are some pictures and a cute video of their fun morning!

Sophia wanted to get in Brooke's bed and when Brooke saw Sophia in there she got in there too! They spent about twenty minutes pretending to go night, night, jumping, and reading. SO CUTE!

Breakfast Pizza

For the last two weekends I have made breakfast pizza. It was perfect because I had leftover ham, tomato, and green onion to have it two weeks in a row. I took pictures of my food this time and because it is so yummy I had to share!

Pizza dough (I bought whole wheat dough in the refrigerated section)
pizza sauce
corn meal
cheese
green onion
tomato
ham
eggs

* You could use any kind of topping you would like, but the recipe I found used this and I think the green oninos add a great flavor punch!


Let your dough get to room temperature. Put corn meal on the bottom of your pan and roll, toss, or stretch your dough to your desired shape and thickness.

Spread the pizza sauce over the dough. * I put the sauce all the way to the edge, because it gives the crust a yummy flavor.

Then put on the mozzerella cheese, green onions, tomato, ham, and then crack four eggs on to the pizza. *you can also scramble your egg first, but that is just one extra dirty dish and extra time.

I then top my pizza with cheddar cheese and parm.


Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350


ENJOY!

half marathon

This week I begin my pre-training for the half marathon I will be running in June. I have been walking and exercising more in January and this week I will be doing one and two mile runs before I start this training program. I am registered for the Rock-n-Roll Marathon on June 5^th and if anyone wants to run with me let me know. Please pray for me as I begin my journey.

Menu Planning

As a single income family, we have had to budget our money very carefully. One thing that we do and I LOVE is menu planning. When I worked I would cook, but I think it’s harder to get dinner together and ready as a non- working mother. I thought that I would share my menu this week as it based off of this incredible blog I uncovered called Budget Bytes. She tells you how much it cost to purchase the dinner and the amount per serving. She also has soooo many tips that help save money. I had most of the ingredients for these recipes at home and only spend $35 on groceries this week, with 75% being organic. Breakfast and lunch is also planned, but kind of boring, but I wanted to share how I do this each week. We also save money because we eat all our leftovers; it also gives me a break from cooking.

Sunday-

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: PB&J, orange, and string cheese

Dinner: Lemon chicken, steam broccoli, Mushroom Ragu

Monday-

Breakfast: Bagels for us yogurt and banana for Brooke

Lunch: Frozen burritos

Dinner: Chicken Chile Verde

Tuesday-

Breakfast: Bagels for us yogurt and banana for Brooke

Lunch: Grilled cheese, chips and salsa, applesauce

Dinner: Chicken Chile Verde

Wednesday-

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and cheese, orange and banana

Lunch: PB&J, orange, and string cheese

Dinner: Baked Ziti & Salad

Thursday-

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: Grilled cheese, chips and salsa, applesauce

Dinner: Baked Ziti & Salad

Friday-

Breakfast: Bagels for us yogurt and banana for Brooke

Lunch: Frozen Burritos

Dinner: Shepherds Pie & Spinach salad

Saturday-

Breakfast: Breakfast pizza

Lunch: Grilled cheese, chips and salsa, applesauce

Dinner: Shepherds Pie & Spinach salad

Along with this week I am making homemade tortillas and black beans to make frozen burritos for breakfast and lunch.
Tortillas
Black Beans
Frozen Breakfast Burritos
Lunch Burritos: Black beans, rice, cheese, and salsa

Have a great week and eat well!