Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday Dear Nikolas...

Well, I did it! I pulled of one spectacular birthday party for my little munchkin...whew! Now my house is a wreck and I have no clue where I am going

to put most of his new stuff...but the party was a success!! He made out like a bandit in gifts, his cake was perfect and his friends had a blast with the slip and slide and the pool we had set up. All in all, it was a great day and even though it exhausted me (to which I am still recovering!) it was worth every second.

The water slide and the pool were a brilliant idea (if I do say so myself!) however once set up a discussion quickly followed on whether or not the slide would be long enough for everyone to enjoy. Which really meant..."Ok, we have a slide for the little guys...but what are the BIG kids supposed to do?!" Well, Uncle Brandon came to the rescue and ran to the wonderful Home Depot to buy the biggest piece of plastic tarp money can buy. Let's just say we were able to set up the coolest looking water slide on the planet and all we really had to do was lay it down, squirt on the baby oil and add a water hose!

It warmed my heart to have my family and friends together on this special day...it is never done often enough! We always say we are going to be better about putting time aside for just visiting, or even chatting on the phone for a few minutes...but it is amazing how quickly we retract on that promise once we get back into our daily routines and the daily grind we are all forced to deal. I make these promises myself...and yet again and again they are broken. I am going to try to change that.........one step at a time.

All in all, my son's million-watt smile as he ran from activity to activity and opened his presents it was worth every tear I shed, every gallon of sweat I lost and a few sleepless nights sprinkled in (the things we do for our kids!)

That's all for now...gotta catch up on my rest!

~Peace

Pitter, Patter goes the Rain...and other Random Thoughts

Good evening!

We are having the fiercest storm here tonight, pounding rain,

booming thunder and lightning bright enough to power my house for a day or so! It is always a cozy feeling to be tucked away inside my nice and dry house in moments like these...although I am hoping the Mother Nature quells her rage by tomorrow afternoon...My Son's 2nd birthday party begins at 1!!

Due to this fact, I have been feeling super nostalgic seeing as how I blinked and all of a sudden my sweet baby boy is no longer babbling and cooing but instead walking (I really mean running) and talking in almost complete sentences!

I went with a "CARS" birthday theme...He is really into Lightning McQueen these days...hence his room decor is pretty much as "CARSY" as you can get (his TV is even shaped like Mr. McQueen himself)! I am very excited for everyone to get here tomorrow and spend time with one another...it just doesn't happen often enough anymore.

I have worked super hard in preparing this party and have no qualms taking FULL credit for it...I just unfortunately have the OCD type personality in which everything MUST be PERFECT or I will possibly have a mini panic attack. Some days this is no issue (though it drives my husband NUTS) but on days like today and tomorrow...everything must go smoothly in order for me to enjoy myself. The napkins have to be just so.....ok now I am scaring myself!!!

On another note, tomorrow will be one of those days in which I will feel that familiar pang that is associated with missing my Brother. He is overseas right now on his first deployment with the U.S. Navy. Needless to say I am EXTREMELY proud of him...but the fact that I haven't seen his face in a few months now tends to pull on the heartstrings. He did however manage to call me yesterday which lifted my spirits tremendously. I have come to cherish these stolen moments, even the ones that have to last only seconds (classified issues, etc.)

Another pang that hits this time of year is that Sunday is my Honey's (grandpa) birthday...he was taken from us 5 years ago and is now walking with the Lord and pain-free...but it saddens me to this day that my son will never get to meet this wonderful man I had the privilege to grow up with. I can only share stories with him as he grows up...

All in all, it has been a pretty productive day. It only takes having a massive amount of people over to get my butt into deep cleaning mode...which really should be done weekly, but lately I do what I can and spend as much time with my son as possible...so shoot me...and take that OCD!!!!!

~Peace

Skinny Down-Home Chicken Pot Pie

I borrowed this recipe from a girlfriend, out of her cookbook "Cook Yourself Thin"...we decided to give it a whirl and put our culinary skills to the test...now keep in mind however as we went along, we decided to improvise on a few ingredients so if they seem a little different in this recipe from the book that is why!

This recipe serves 6 and only has 372 Calories per serving!

You Need: (Remember I changed a few things around!)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup flour

1 small onion-diced

2 garlic cloves-minced

1 leek-chopped

1 large carrot-chopped

3 red potatos, skin on-diced

1 cup radishes-diced

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts-shredded

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 small can of fresh lima beans-drained

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

6 sheets of phyllo dough

1 tablespoon olive oil-for brushing

1 9x9 cake pan

What you do:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Thaw 6 sheets of phyllo dough at least one hour prior to using. Bring the chicken broth to a slow simmer and keep warm.

2. In a large pot, combine flour and olive oil and cook lightly golden (about 3 minutes). Add the onion, garlic, leek, carrot, red potato, radishes and stir with a spoon making sure the bottom does not get to dry. Add the shredded chicken, bay leaf and thyme and continue stirring for about 3 minutes coating everything evenly.

3. Add the warm chicken broth, stir and bring to a boil while constantly stirring (to keep from burning). Bring to a low simmer and cover. Simmer about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Take 6 sheets of phyllo dough and with a knife, cut out a square slightly larger than the rim of the cake pan. Brush with olive oil and set aside.

5. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs from the chicken mixture and transfer to the cake pan. Top with phyllo dough and press down firmly with your hands. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

7. Enjoy!

Now the secret is to use ingredients that fit you and your tastes...that made all the difference for us!

I can honestly say our bellies are full and we are two happy ladies...it came out wonderfully and I will definitely use this recipe again. It was the perfect home-cooked meal...and even though it does take some work to put together there is no need to worry about side dishes...everything you could possibly want is in this dish!

If you try it be sure to let me know how it turns out...I am always curious as to what other think of recipes and how my 'alterations' turn out!

~Peace

Disney...Dreams Really Do Come True!!

First of all, I would like to comment on how cute my little boy is when he is sleeping...just precious!

Next, it would seem that I was a bit premature when it came to unleashing my aggression on booking a Disney trip...(however it IS still costing a pretty penny...or two...). But the look I will get to see on my son's face will be worth it all...and then some! After all...the last time we went to Orlando we stood in line for hours just to see Winnie the Pooh...only to discover that once we reached him it was incredibly magical to my son...you could see it in his face!

We will be staying at the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort (ooo! aaaa!) and will be enjoying every perk we can manage! The Magic Kingdom is HIGH on our priority list among a few other things...We are just looking forward to spending quality time with my Mom...time is one thing we never have enough of lately...and its neccessary to take step back, slow down a little and just...BREATHE!

Needless to say I am super STOKED for this trip...it cannot come soon enough...in the meantime I have a toddler birthday party coming up on Saturday...including a slip n' slide, 500 water balloons, a water slide and all the pizza you can eat...(yeah, I am that crazy!)...so it would seem I need to get off of here and attend to a few last minute things to check off on my dreaded "To-Do List"...

~Peace

Disney...or Bust

Well...When my Mother and I first discussed taking my son on a trip to Disney World this summer we had no idea how challenging this task was truly going to be. Ugh.

We had sugary visions of driving up one morning, staying a few nights, seeing everything that Disney has to offer while staying in the comfiest of hotels and being whisked away to the sights by an amazing shuttle service. Then...we woke up.

First of all, who in their right mind knew how much it would cost just to step foot onto Disney property??!?!?! Thus the serious choices are starting to pile up and we now haven't the slightest clue how to go about achieving our goals...without emptying our pockets.

I want this experience to be the best for my son, but at what price am I willing to go?? I suppose time will tell as we research as many avenues as we can find...as one thing is for certian...we are determined to work things out one way or another!!

P.S...If anyone wants to contribute to our "Take Nikolas to Disney Fund"...please let me know! Bwahahahahah!

Stay Tuned!

Hello Blog!

Wow...I cannot believe I actually decided to try creating a blog...but here I am...as if I don't have enough on my plate right?? I am, however, a firm believer in trying new things out so here goes...

I am in the middle of planning a birthday party for my soon to be "2" year old...the party is this Saturday and I still have a zillion things to do...but every second will be worth it! I am getting emotional with every step I take in this process...what happened to the little 5 pound bundle I just brought home from the hospital??? The time has really flown by that fast? Would I really want to stop/slow down time even if I could?

NO. Life was meant to be LIVED...and so I am doing that each and every day...and raising my son to the best of my ability along the way. I am so proud of the little guy. He really is my purpose for being on this planet.

Well, that wraps it up for now...bear with me as I am new to all of this and am sure I will get the hang of things in no time!

Thanks for reading!

~Peace