Bloglovin'

As you know, Google Reader is going away this summer. Bloglovin' is a great place to keep up to date on all of your favorite blogs.

I am happy to announce that I am now on Bloglovin' and you can easily follow me on there to keep up to date with Two Boys and a Little Lady!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hope to see you all there!!

GF recipes

In the past month or so, we haven switched the kids to a gluten free diet. We originally made the switch for Bennett to see if it would help his sensory and his behavior. Once school let out for summer, it just seemed easier to do it for all the kids. I pack their lunches for the babysitter and family meals at home are all gluten free. It really hasn't been that hard of a switch, mostly because we eat a wide variety of things anyways. I only had to adjust our bread and pasta mostly, and be more aware of ingredients in processed foods. For example, who knew that regular soy sauce contains wheat?! It  sure does, so now I just buy the GF soy sauce. Doesn't taste a bit different. We also switched to corn tortillas for tacos instead of flour. We have always been aware of artificial flavors and sweetners, but I am extra vigilant about them now. We don't do red dye and we try to stay way from the other dyes as well. We have always sweetened with honey, maple syrup, etc.

Anyways, here are some of the recipes we have been making lately:

Soft GF sandwich bread:


GF bread from the store is down right disgusting. Trust me. We've tried every single brand out there. For a while we just did without bread or rolled things in corn tortillas. But my golly, sometimes a kid just wants a pb&j! So, mama went on a search for good, soft bread. My sister told me about this recipe that  she tried and thought it was really good. So we tried it, and the texture was soft and fluffy....amazing! We had pb&j that night for dinner and the kids were in heaven!! I've made it twice now and we are hooked. It also works great for eggs in a basket and french toast.

PB Oat breakfast cookies:

Really good!! No added sugar or flour! We made them GF by using GF oats.

Crunchy Apple and Grape salad:

Really Good!! The kids really enjoyed this.

Hawaiian BBQ Pork Burgers

 

We used GF buns and I always make our own BBQ sauce. These were super good!! Peytonn ate two burgers by himself! Bennett ate his without a bun, as always.

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Made these the other night for dinner. Super simply to make and really tasty. I used canned and rinsed black beans, mashed them slightly, added some fresh salsa, onion, and seasoning. Used cheddar cheese and sour cream on the side for dipping. Used coconut oil for frying. We ate these up! A great week night meal that's meat free. You could also easily add leftover shredded chicken or taco meat.

Homemade Spaghetti O's

Amazing! Seriously! Make this if you make nothing else! Uber easy and really really good! Peytonn likes the sauce as tomato soup without any pasta. I make GF pasta and the sauce separate. Then add them together in the individual bowls. We also use Whole Foods 365 brand of crushed tomatoes with basil as our tomato base.

There you have it! Going GF doesn't have to be difficult. Just making a few changes to your 'usuals' can transform your diet. Most foods are naturally GF: all meat (without breading), veggies, fruit, and most dairy. I am amazed at a lot of the yummy recipes I am finding to replace some of our usual gluten filled foods.

Here, there and everywhere!

How has it been since May 8th that I've updated the blog?! I swear time flies and I have no concept of it. So here is a rather lengthy quick update of what's been going on around the homestead.

Home: We  finished painting the kitchen cabinets white a while ago. And now we've purchased the paint to paint the entire downstairs with. (I think my husband hates me!) But it will be all one color and some of the kitchen walls haven't been painted since we moved in, oh almost 6 years ago! Yikes! Trust me, it all needs a little face lift! And I'm excited to have it all be one color. We went with 'Comfort Gray' from Sherwin Williams.

 I figured it would go nicely with the white cabinets and trim, and the dark brown couch and furniture that we have. I thought with such a neutral color on the walls, we could add some color with new curtains. I really like the chevron pattern,but Lord are they expensive!!

As for the kids: Bennett just finished up his second year of preschool. He will be going 5 days a week next year with the same teacher. 

Peytonn finishes up all day kindergarten next Monday. Can't believe he is going to be in 1st grade next year!! He's been busy with both soccer and baseball this Spring. I think he has really enjoyed the sports more this year since a lot of the kids on his team are from his school. He wants to do Fall soccer and we plan for swim lessons this summer for both boys and VBS. 

Avonlea is almost 2!?!?! Sad! But she is saying more words everyday and its getting easier to understand what she wants and needs. The pacifier is long gone and she is sleeping so much better now! Thank heavens! She's still a peanut at barely 25lbs and will be in 18 month shorts this summer, but 24 month shirts. She is now into a size 5 shoe! She wants to be just as active as the boys and loves to play outside, go for bike rides/walks, and is attempting to ride a tricycle. 

As for me and the baby, well we are doing great! I am 21 weeks now and I feel like my belly is so small still! Some times I even forget I am pregnant, but then she kicks and squirms a million times to remind me. I can feel her kicks and squirms from the outside of my belly now and she is still super low. Maybe that is why I still feel so small. Weight gain is still around 8lbs, give or take. My next appointment is June 3rd at 22 weeks. Still on weekly progesterone shots, made it through my first month of them. I'm really, really hoping to make it to September which will put me at 35 weeks. I really want 36/37 this time and to bring a  baby home with me!!! 

We don't really need much with this  baby since I kept almost everything from Avonlea. I did give her infant seat away to my cousin, but a friend has  been generous enough to give us her Graco one that goes up to 30 lbs. I plan to keep Avonlea in her crib as long as possible, for my own sanity. We switched the boys at age 2 to a regular sized bed, but I don't think that will  be the case for Avonlea. Plus, eventually the  girls will share a room. If we don't move first. I purchased a Rock n Play at Target this weekend for the new baby. I figured this would be easy to transfer between upstairs (our room) and the living room downstairs. Plus take places if need be. This will  also be what the baby sleeps in with us until moving into the crib. I just got the basic one because I liked the colors better than the monkey deluxe one they had. The aqua is much more vibrant in person and I love the mesh sides to allow for air flow and in case the baby gets their face next to it, they are able to breath better.

We just got the BOB Duallie double stroller in the mail this week. I took it with me to my sister's this past weekend and it worked great for the girls. Even Bennett took a stroll in it. Peytonn pushed it the entire time and it turns/pushes like a dream!!!

I also found on a discount website the infant seat adapter for this stroller and the baby monitor that works with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. We desperately need a new monitor, considering ours is 6 years old and barely works!! I'm on a roll for baby purchases but that should about cover us for items that we needed.

Overall, naming this baby should be the hardest thing!

18 week update

How am I really already 18 weeks along with this pregnancy?! I swear this one is just flying by. And if the past is any indication on when this baby will come, I hopefully have at least 12 weeks left. That is just crazy!!!

We had our 18 week ultrasound on Monday and I am extremely happy to announce that we will be having another precious baby girl!!! I had a really strong feeling that it was a girl. It will be nice to have two boys and two girls. The boys are very happy to have another "sissy"!

Everything looked great on the ultrasound. She is currently head down and measuring about 8oz. The measurements were accurate for an Oct 4th due date. My last menstrual period date gives me a due date of Oct 6th and one of my 1st trimester ultrasounds gave me a due date of Oct 2nd. My doc and I both agreed to leave it as Oct 6th. I told her really due dates don't matter much for my pregnancies. I'm 0 for 3 in even making it to my due date month.

I also had a doc appt on Monday. Everything looks good. Heartrate was in the 150 range, I've gained 8lbs, and my blood pressure looks great. I've been doing Zumba twice a week and walks about 3 times per week.  I have a feeling I will gain more than 15 lbs this time and well.....it is what it is.
I thought it would  be fun to compare pics at 18 weeks with the kiddos.

Peytonn 18 weeks

 Bennett 18 weeks

Avonlea 18 weeks

18 weeks with baby #4

Can you tell how differently I carry between the boys and the girls? I am so round with the boys, and more square with the girls. If you can be square and pregnant?! :) I also feel like my belly is so small this time around. Maybe its because I had lost those 17lbs before becoming pregnant. I was a lot closer to my starting weight with Peytonn this time around than with Bennett and Avonlea. Its just so strange to me how your body can be so different but do the same job.

Overall, I still feel great. My sleeping has been hit or miss. Some nights I toss and turn, and others I sleep for 10 hours. We broke Avonlea of the pacifier about 10 days ago and she is sleeping so much better. The last two nights she has not woken up once. Major improvement! 

The baby will probably room with us for a while and then share a room with Avonlea. We will need a bigger house though in the next year or so.  The room the girls will share is smaller than the boys' room and it will be a tight squeeze with two beds.  We shall see! 

Napa Valley

Today we are leaving Napa and heading to spend the remainder of our trip in San Francisco!

Napa was wonderful and we had great weather. It was sunny and upper 70's/lower 80's every day. Pure sunshine and no clouds. The sun felt so good!!

The first (and our favorite!) winery that we went to was Sterling Winery. We took a tour of the winery, sampled some wines (I just took one sip of each), and enjoyed the views and sunshine. It was really fun!











My mom and sister on the lift up to the top of the winery. My sister was being a wuss! Ha!




My mom and I at Sterling. I bought two bottles of wine for after the baby.

We also went to Cakebread Cellars, Rombauer, and Castello Di Amorosa. But Sterling was by far our favorite.



Cakebread grapevines




My sissy and I at Cakebread







Castello Di Amorosa

We ate some amazing food in Napa! We had some great marinated olives, dinner at Morimoto's restaurant (he's and Ironchef!), and an amazing lunch at Rutherford Grill.

At Rutherford Grill they had these amazing woodfire grilled artichokes. Seriously the best!! I will be trying to recreate these at home this summer for sure!



I can't wait to see what San Fran has to offer for the remainder of the trip. I am soaking in as much sunshine as possible! And....I get to hang out with my bro! He lives in San Fran and I can't wait for him to be our tour guide.

Dump post

This is going to be a hodge podge of photos and posts, mixed together. I just dont have time to catch up on all of them! So, here goes:

In March Peytonn turned 6! How did he get to be six years old so fast?! He's almost done with Kindergarten and soon he will be a first grader. Sniff sniff. My baby and first born is growing up too fast!! He's so tall that I can barely pick him up anymore!

He had his first 'friend' bday party this year. We had it at the YMCA where the kids had gym time and swim time! Let me tell you, 25 five and six year olds for over two hours is exhausting!!!!! But they had a blast!














It was super crazy but Peytonn had a blast and that's all that matters!

We had his family party in Easter Sunday. He now thinks he gets at least two or three parties for his birthday. Yeah....no.

We've been trying to get outside as much as possible when the weather permits. We've had soccer practice and games and baseball is also getting ready to start. We are going to be super busy here soon!

But this weekend the weather was amazing and we got to spend some much needed time at the park and outside working on the yard and the garden.











Avonlea got to break in her new keen sandals. They were great for the park!





First soccer game!




Mama got to enjoy/indulge in a cherry soda. Yum!

I am so excited to leave for vacation tomorrow. I spent last night grocery shopping and making a few freezer meals for the family while I'll be gone. I am almost packed and definitely ready to go!

I've got my spray tan and my highlights/haircut. And a 14 week belly to tag along. :)



See you all next week!!

This....

I want.

Now......who wants to buy it for me?

Anyone?

No?

Come on!

I'll give you ice cream. :)