Too Big, Too Fast

Here are two videos I took of the little man today...he is growing up WAY to fast!! I'm sure this is just a start to all the 'trouble' he will be getting into.

Etsy Needs/Wants/Loves

Here are a few lot of things I am loving on Etsy right now. Most of it is stuff for the little man since I am looking for things for his Easter basket and 1st birthday.

Crochet Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles $15.00

Organic Easter Honey Bunny $18.00

Sorting Eggs $27.00

Wooden Fox Lacing Toy $18.00

Custom Rubber Stamp $38.00

Tiny Gold or Silver Letter Bracelet $14.50

Wooden Puzzles Zoo Animals $19.00

Star Wars Baby Shoes $16.90

Cloth Napkins $18.50

Jackson's 9 Month Photo Shoot!

I finally had the Man put Jackson's 9 month pictures that we took on my computer so I could post them. We think they turned out way better than we thought they would. I hope you all like them.

disclaimer:  some of them are the same photo with just different filters/edits that we were trying and some of them haven't been edited at all and really should be

Pinterest Monday: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Even though we didn't have a Super Bowl party I felt like we should have some sort of Super Bowl food...you know the kind that goes really well with a beer or two and can be snacked on over hours and hours of football and commercials.

I found this Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe on Pinterest and thought that it would be perfect for the Man and I to munch on during the big game.  And let me tell you it was! We managed to eat the entire thing before half-time...yep it happened and the Man and I have moved on from that point in our lives. I did take pictures of the entire process but they are not very flattering for this amazing dip...so just trust me and make it, eat it and don't feel bad about eating the entire thing in one setting! 

The only thing I might change about this recipe is that  I might had more chicken. Maybe do 2 cups instead of 1 1/2 cups.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken or 1 (12 ounce) can chunk chicken, drained (we bought a rotisserie chicken and shredded part of that)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot, not to be confused with their pepper sauce)
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
blue cheese crumbles (optional)


Heat chicken and Buffalo sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Make sure to break up the chicken so there are no big chunks. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in shredded cheese. Pour into a shallow dish or pie pan and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and microwave it until the cheese melts. Sprinkle blue cheese on it if you like blue cheese. Serve with chips for dipping.

Back on Track

I think it was 2 years ago that I really decided to try and become a better reader.  The initial start was slow but then the Man deployed and my sister came to live with me for 4 1/2 months....she happens to be a big time reader.  So we started "sister reading time" which is pretty self explanatory. Every day we would just turn everything off and just spend 30 min or an hour reading.  It was great in the short time Nicki was living with me, I managed to read 4-6 books.  Then she left and the Man came home, then we packed everything, moved across the country, and had a baby....so needless to say my reading has been non-existent.  

My friend over at thesmiths.hugitout completely reminded me that I should really be reading more than just the 4-8 books I read Jackson everyday...I really should be reading books for myself as well.  So I found a book that I have owned for awhile and haven't read and started it.  I told myself that I was going to read just a chapter a day. To me this meant I didn't need to set aside a ton of time toward reading because lets be real, I don't have a ton of spare time! I then told the Man that he should start doing the same thing...and low and behold we are both reading again!! I actually finished my book yesterday and I will start a new book tonight.

If any of you are looking for a pretty funny book I recommend  Are You There, Vodka? It's Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. I had already read her first book My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands and laughed through the whole book, so I figured reading her second one would be a good way to kick off getting back on track with reading.  And I was right, I enjoyed reading a chapter a day...sometimes more :)  

Tonight I am going to start reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. My Mom actually bought me this book last year for Christmas and since she said it was a tear jerker I made the decision to wait until I wasn't pregnant to start reading it :)

Bobby Butronic

I received an email a few years back that had this video attached.  I saved the email and every time I was having a bad day at work or just in general I would watch this video and it would make me laugh.  When I was dating the Man, if you want to call it that, I sent him this video.  He found it just as funny and we use to make random references to it.  We haven't watched or referenced this video in FOREVER! but for some odd reason I did the other night.  That led to the Man and I watching this video again and let me tell you it is still as funny now as it was probably 5 years ago.  I really hope you all find this as funny as I do!

10 Months!

Jackson is now 10 months old! He is quite the entertainer and loves to make you smile and laugh.  At his 9 month appointment Jackson weighed 21.5 lbs and was 28.5 inches tall.  I am guessing he is still around those same numbers yet :) He has been walking around furniture for what seems forever now and now in the last week he has started letting go of the furniture and standing for at least 10 seconds by himself.  If I wasn't proud enough of him for that, yesterday he started to actually take a couple steps!! By the end of the night he had made it about 5 steps before falling down. He still is a little unsure about walking but if we bribe him with the telephone he will usually make it at least 5 steps if not more....my baby is growing up so fast!!

I'll be completely honest with you, these are only photos from my phone over the past month because I am too lazy to go and get the SD card from the camera sorry!

He LOVES to read books and pick out what books we read to him at bedtime. He also turns the pages for us...its a good thing we have 99% of his books memorized because he is a fast page turner!

He watched me put a record on recently and turn the volume up some and ever since then he loves to have the record player on and then he turns the volume up and down

 Sitting on Daddy's shoulders is one of the most fun things to do in the WORLD!

 Yep we are those parents that took their baby to Hooters for lunch one day. Jackson loved it and our waitress...he couldn't stop staring at her

the Man's first time wearing Jackson in the ring sling 

 Reading with Uncle Nathan...notice it's the same book the Man was reading to him a few pictures up, he has favorites :)

 He smashed his fingers in the kitchen cabinet door and received his first band-aids...it was sad, very sad

Standing with no hands!

 Resting after because its hard work to stand on your own