fresh veggies: roma tomatoes

Roma tomatoes are a staple for me and Jeff in the month of August.  I use them on everything and in everything that would call for regular tomatoes:  salsa, salads, taco dips, and I've even pureed them for spaghetti sauce.  They are less seedy and easier to work with.

Sugar has been my enemy this summer and I knew I needed a healthy and accessible snack in the fridge, and pico de gallo did the trick.  The only semi-challenging and time-consuming part of this recipe is the chopping.  However, I have one of these bad boys that my MIL got me for my birthday one year and I love it.  The tomatoes and onions were perfectly chopped within minutes.

 

12 roma tomatoes, diced

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper (optional - I use half of one)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

lime juice (just squeeze one half)

salt & pepper to taste

 

 

Stir together and refrigerate.  Serve with tortilla chips (we love the blue corn!)

 



currently obsessing

Sometimes you just have to splurge, right?  There's something about owning an item that is completely unnecessary - it's like, for once can I buy something I don't need?  If I could, these are the things I am loving right now.  As well as a few things that aren't for sale...


[personalized ipad case]
I am so lucky to have received an iPad through my school, because let's face it, I wouldn't be able to afford one on my own.  They came with basic blue cases on them which has never bothered me in the least, but come on Shutterfly, your personalized cases are to die for.

 

[stella & dot charm & necklace]
Jewelry isn't really my thing - I downright love my wedding ring, but other than that I don't wear much.  Until I noticed the circle charm.  I would wear this every single day.  I've been searching for the perfect one all over Etsy but just didn't turn up any results.

While visiting in Cincinnati, my friend's neighbor had it.  Like, she had the one I want.  It was Stella & Dot, and I just had to have it.  My idea is that Jeff could get it for me as a gift after the birth of baby #2.  Just an idea.

I would like a "p" for Patrick and a "?" for his little brother.  It's really a question mark, I am kind of backing out of our choice.  Please, I need ideas.

[prinstagram]
I love me some Instagram, and this is an awesome site to have your photos printed (they're some of my faves!).  You don't even have to upload your choices, the site will load all your photos by simply using your Insta login. 

[birthday invites]
Why is paper so expensive?  I mean, I can go to Staples and get a 1-subject notebook for one cent.  How come a birthday invitation is $4.00 a card?  The card on Etsy that I really wanted for Patrick's birthday turned out to be too pricey, so I headed over to Tiny Prints and Minted to do a search.  I found some amazing cards, got them all personalized and set up only to find that it would cost almost eighty bucks for not even 20 cards.  That's completely ridiculous.

But they're still adorable.

 

 

 

 

 

[yellow + gray + suspenders]
A girl I graduated with just got married, and she posted this photo on Facebook of her hubby and his groomsmen.  I wouldn't do this look for my own wedding, but I think it's so fresh, cheerful and ultra quirky.  Bowties are kind of a weakness of mine. 

That's it.  Tell me your obsessions right now!

family photo sesh 2013

You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but this was one of the worst behaving hours of Patrick's life.  And one of the worst, most embarassing hours of my life as a mother.

We decided to hire our wedding photographer to do our photos this time, even though she was quite a bit more expensive than our usual one.  So seeing that I had to hand over a fat check at the end, I was praying that it would go well.

It started by Patrick not getting a long enough nap - total shocker.  Then Jeff came in from work in a pissy mood.  Now if you know my husband, you know he is the very even-tempered person; he gets moody like once a year.  As opposed to my mood swings striking once an hour.  So wouldn't it be typical that on the evening of our family photos that my son is tired and my husband is moody?  Picture this:  I'm getting ready in front of the mirror, Patrick and Jeff are in the shower (Patrick screaming and Jeff mumbling things under his breath like that's why you do these sort of things in the winter) and me screaming SHUT UP ABOUT WINTER.  IT'S ALWAYS WINTER, WINTER, WINTER. 

This was the mood before the photographer even showed up at our house.  You can pretty much decipher what the shoot was like, but in a nutshell, Patrick screamed/cried/whined and ran away from us every six seconds.  In fact, he was so worked up that by the end he was practically sobbing in my arms and could hardly get to sleep soon after.

Whatever, it was one for the books. 

I was also 5 months pregnant at the time so my belly was impossible to cover, yet kind of weird to show off.  Awkward!  Here are my favorites (there are quite a few, actually!)

 

 

 

 

Now I have to choose which ones will go in our large family room frames, and I'm now finally inspired to make some kind of collage on our master bedroom wall. 

I'm honestly just glad they're over with!  Next year should be even more fun with an infant and a toddler.  (I'm actually serious - it's going to be so exciting to see our family grow!)


// family photo sesh 2012

28 weeks

• Hello third trimester!  My mom says I have officially "popped."  I don't know, but I feel pretty huge - At my pre-natal appointment last week I had gained 15 pounds.  At this point with Patrick I had only gained 7 pounds, so things are a little different this time!

• My glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes is scheduled for this week, so I have to fast after midnight, drink the infamous orange drink in the morning, then go immediately to have blood drawn at the lab.  Yay!

• Now I know nesting doesn't usually begin until you're close to delivering, but I have felt almost in a panic about getting our house ready for another baby.  I bought paint for the dining room, painted a corner and decided it was waaaaay too much work.  After having an emotional breakdown, (literally, Patrick was scared - "Mommy?  Mommy?") I got Jeff to work on the painting, woo hoo!  Along with painting, I called a cleaning business to schedule a couch, rug and upholstered chair cleansing.  Aaaannnd I called to schedule a deep cleaning for the beginning of October.  Like, behind the fridge and under the TV stand, baseboards, etc.  Things that I just don't have the energy for.  This house is going to be spick and span.

• Speaking of getting ready for baby, I've been picking up odds and ends whenever possible - swaddles, washcloths, and sleep n' plays.  All we really need is white onesies and we'll be set.  Oh and my friend Sara so graciously offered her co-sleeper for us to borrow, which I am beyond thrilled about.  I also bought a couple of nursing tanks from Target, which is something I didn't have the first time around.  They look so comfortable, and I'm looking forward to being nursing bra-less all the time.

• Our baby is the size of a large eggplant right now, which is ca-razy.  It's so hard to imagine such a large being inside of me, but I can sure feel him pushing around in there.  (By the way, the decrease in sugar has really made me feel better, as well as slowed down movement quite a bit.)

• I have yet another ultrasound (4th one!) scheduled for the end of the month to check on the baby's kidney - it was a little dilated last time, so they want to make sure it isn't getting worse.  I'm kind of excited to see my peanut on-screen again!  His face is just so beautiful.  And obviously I am praying that it's nothing major with his kidney. 

• Getting ready to be prego & working again:  remember all those working maternity outfits I posted about a few weeks ago?  Well I bit the bullet and ordered about four of them.  I knew I'd regret it if I didn't when the first day of school came around.  I've also been craving salads like a nut and I found these amazing Rubbermaid containers called Lunch Blox for packing my lunches.  They are sold as:  a salad kit, a sandwich kit, or an entree kit.  They also sell them for kids!