After a pretty lengthy blogging hiatus, I’m excited to get back into regular posting. Over the past several months we’ve been busy with some pretty major life changes–mainly buying and moving into our first house!–but things are finally beginning to settle down and it’s so nice to have a place we can call home for the long haul. Bring on ALL the holiday decorations! Continue reading “Life Update”
This past Monday Jackson hit ten months. In just two more months we’ll officially have a one-year-old on our hands. That is so crazy to me! As usual, the past thirty days flew by, but I’m happy to report that I think we’re FINALLY over the hump of illness around here (knocking on wood). Jackson did catch a couple more colds that then passed on to Mom and Dad, but they were no big deal, especially after the ordeal that was Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (If you missed the nine month recap, you can read all about that fun virus here). I’m really hoping this means we’re over the worst! Onward and upward. Continue reading “Baby Recap: Ten Months Old”
Shortly after David and I first started dating I attended a party for his twenty ninth birthday. Today he turns 38! It’s hard to believe we’ve been celebrating birthdays together for close to a decade, but you know what they say, time flies when you’re having fun. I know David’s not thrilled about being another year older, but I personally think he has a lot to celebrate this year. This is his first birthday as a dad, for one! And after a very hectic 2016–we moved halfway across the country and then back again over the course of six months–we’re happily settled back on the east coast. With all the craziness of the past year, I haven’t been great about expressing my appreciation for everything David does for me (and now Jackson), but there’s no time like the present! So here goes. Continue reading “Happy Birthday to My Hubs!”
For some reason I never think to make stuffed peppers, even though they’re one of the easiest and most versatile things to make on the planet. But inspiration struck on Sunday. I had two cored out peppers left over from a crudités platter I bought on Saturday and it was pretty obvious what I should do with them. Based on the ingredients I had lying around, I decided to do a Mexican version with quinoa as the base. A little corn and onion, some black beans, tomatoes, and fresh cilantro, and voila! A delicious and spontaneous meal that was on the table in about 90 minutes.
You can stuff peppers with just about anything you want. Rice is popular, as is ground meat, but I personally love the texture of quinoa and think it works great in this recipe. And you can’t get any easier or healthier than canned beans (just make sure you get beans without salt or any other junk). I chose to use black beans in keeping with the Mexican food theme but you could use any kind of bean you like or even a mixture of beans. Anything goes! If you’re looking for a simple and quick recipe that’s big on flavor, give these stuffed peppers a try.
Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
Directions
Note: I’d add avocado to these as a topper but didn’t have any on hand when I made this batch. Although definitely not a necessity, I think avocado would take these peppers to the next level!
I’ve been seriously slacking on posting over the past couple weeks and really have no excuse other than the fact that the weather has left me majorly unmotivated. This time of year always makes me super antsy to get outside and back into nature, while uninspired to do anything indoors. Anyone else out there in the same boat? But, our little peanut is nine months old today, so I had to pop on and at least write a monthly recap! Continue reading “Baby Recap: Nine Months Old”
We had a few blissfully warm days over the past couple of weeks but this weekend the deep freeze returned, and there’s a snowstorm in the forecast for tomorrow. A really big one apparently. Womp womp. We’re exactly a week away from the first day of spring, so let’s hope this is winter’s last hurrah before the temps start climbing for good. I’m so ready for warm weather and sunshine!
When it’s this cold outside I like to warm up with a nourishing bowl of soup. As much as I like salads, I often crave something hot for dinner in the winter and don’t find salads so appealing. I don’t want to forgo all my veggies though and that’s where soup comes in! A hearty veggie soup packs in loads of healthy and fresh ingredients while offering the comfort of a warm dish. This lentil and green pea veggie soup is a family fave that I make all throughout the winter months. It’s filling and flavorful and incredibly easy. Whenever I’m making soup I always double or triple the recipe and make a giant pot so that we can eat it for several nights. You can also freeze it if you want to have some on hand for later, but we always wind up eating it all and don’t have any left over to freeze!
I didn’t measure the quantity but it makes a lot. I’d guess about 12 cups! If you wind up making it and measure it out, let me know.
Lentil & Green Pea Veggie Soup
Ingredients
Directions
*Adapted from the Oh She Glows Curried Lentil Soup recipe
Several of my friends are pregnant with their first babies right now and are going through the process of creating a baby registry. Having had my little one last year, I know all too well how overwhelming this can be. With the plethora of products out there beckoning first-time parents, it’s hard to separate the must-buys from the gimmicks. I was as clueless as they come when creating my own registry and had no idea where to start. After surviving eight months with an infant though, I now have a pretty good idea of what to stock and what to skip. All babies are different of course, so some of the things Jackson loved may not suit other little ones, but generally speaking, I don’t think you can go wrong with the list of basics below. If you’re a soon-to-be mom looking for registry tips, I hope this helps! Continue reading “Baby Registry Must-Haves”
For some reason I always seem to have overripe bananas lying around. I don’t mind though because overripe bananas make the very best banana bread! It may sound gross but I like to wait until bananas have turned completely black on the outside before I bake with them. At that point, I know they’re bursting with flavor and will infuse any baked good with banana-rich goodness. I had three of these perfectly ripened bananas in the house yesterday and my husband was starting to get repulsed by looking at them, so it was a great excuse to whip up a loaf of my favorite banana bread.
I’m a huge fan of this banana bread recipe because it requires just a handful of healthy ingredients and isn’t loaded with sugar or fat. I can eat a slice for breakfast without feeling like I’m starting my day off with a piece of cake, and that’s not something I can say for most quick breads. I typically top it with a dab of peanut butter but you can add any spread you like, or eat it plain, whatever strikes your fancy!
Ingredients
Directions
Adapted from Peaceful Dumpling’s Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Jackson turned eight months old on Friday. I can’t believe in just four more months he’ll be turning one. Time needs to slow waaay down!
The past month has passed by in a bit of a blur. Since starting daycare in early January Jackson has been sick every single week with one thing or another. First a stomach virus, then a cold, then another cold followed by a double ear infection, then another cold. Seriously, it NEVER ends! The doctor said it’s normal and that we can expect Jackson to be sick for the first six months after starting daycare but I’m praying that won’t be true for him. Really, half a year?! I can’t take four more months of this!! Spring, please get here STAT! Continue reading “Baby Recap: Eight Months Old”
When I was pregnant I scoured the Internet and baby books for information on pregnancy, labor, and how to care for a newborn. I watched YouTube videos on how to swaddle (something I still can’t seem to figure out), researched the best infant car seats, and read all about how to handle colic. The one topic I didn’t delve into much, though, was breastfeeding. Somehow I brushed it off as something I’d pick up instinctively once the baby arrived. My (albeit naive) feeling was, our bodies are meant to do this, so things will just fall into place. Turned out I couldn’t have been more wrong. The reality? Breastfeeding can be hard. Like, really hard. And you’re not an abomination to motherhood if that’s the case for you.
I struggled with breastfeeding from the get go but didn’t think much of it in the hospital, where I had the luxury of nurses and lactation consultants to guide me through it. When I got home, it was a whole different story. It was really hard to get Jackson to latch, when he did latch, it was really uncomfortable, and I was constantly worried that he wasn’t getting enough milk. That anxiety coupled with the utter exhaustion that comes from having to feed a newborn around the clock can make any mom second guess her abilities. I think I made it 48 hours before breaking down in tears of frustration to my husband, crying about feeling like a failure.
In those early days and weeks I nearly threw in the towel on breastfeeding SO many times. I even had formula on hand and ready just in case. But I kept at it. Jackson was gaining weight “beautifully” according to the doctor, so that gave me confidence that I must be doing something right. Still, breastfeeding was uncomfortable for me for a while — at one point I had a cracked nipple on one side and a blistered nipple on the other one — but I managed to keep going. I tried all kinds of techniques to improve Jackson’s latch since all the experts say you’re doing something wrong if it’s painful. I even had a lactation consultant come to the house, but that didn’t help. I just took it one day at a time and clung to the hope that it would get better. And you know what? It DID get better. Right around three months things turned a corner. After trying everything under the sun to “fix” my breastfeeding issues, what worked in the end was TIME. Jackson was such a small baby, just 6 pounds 13 oz. at birth, and his little mouth just wasn’t big enough at first to latch on in the “correct” way, no matter what I tried. Once he got a bit bigger, things resolved on their own without any effort from me and, just like that, my breastfeeding struggles were over.
Jackson will be eight months old on Friday and, believe it or not, I’m still breastfeeding. I never would have guessed I’d last this long when I was in the thick of it early on, but I’m so glad I powered through. I hold no judgment towards women who are unable to breastfeed or choose not to. My hope in sharing my experience is to encourage women who DO want to breastfeed but are struggling like I was that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Take it from me, it gets easier. Don’t stress. You’ll get there.
Wholesome Homebody 