Wordless Wednesday: Back to School Edition

My little girl started school yesterday! She's attending a toddler nursery school program two mornings a week. She had a fantastic first day, with minimal tears. I'm so proud of her! Enjoy these pictures of her first day.

*For those of you who are my friend on Facebook, you've seen these. Sorry for the repeat, but she was just so cute I couldn't resist posting them on the blog as well!

Dressed up in her new Back-to-School outfit!

Posing with Joseph

Posing with Daddy

Posing with Mommy!

Walking into School with Daddy

Playing in her classroom before we left

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First Haircut

She's walking, she's talking, she's starting school in two days. (More on that in another post.) She eats with a fork and spoon (most of the time), can drink from a regular cup and is 100% potty-trained (no pull-ups, even at night.) She knows all her colors, shapes, and letters. My girl is growing up, and yesterday she reached another milestone: her first haircut.

We talked up the haircut in the days leading up to it. I wanted her to be excited, even though she really had no idea what getting a haircut meant.

On the morning of the big day we dropped baby brother off at my mom's house and headed out for some girl time.

When we got to the salon, she was thrilled. (It was a pretty cool place.) She bounced up and down on the chairs in the waiting area, and posed with the Snip-Its mascot.

When it was time to hop up in the seat, she did so gamely. When the hairdresser put the smock on, her eyes got a little big, but we talked her through what was happening.

And then she was given bubbles to blow, and it was as if she had been handed a million dollars. It's amazing how powerful bubbles can be.

The hairdresser cut off a few inches, blew it dry, and styled it with a french braid, complete with a bow. (She asked Stephanie her favorite color and she responded "blue and pink." So that's what she got.)

The trip was completed with a handful of animal crackers, a pretty bracelet souvenir, and a certificate for her first haircut. (Which contained a piece of her precious baby hair.) My proud girl held it up and posed for pictures. She then announced that she needed another haircut so she could blow bubbles in the big chair again.

After I convinced her that her hair needs to grow long again before we cut it, we headed out to finish our day with some shopping.

What do you think....quite a difference, right?

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Coffee-mate Natural Bliss: Review & Giveaway!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know what a big role coffee plays in my life. I drink a lot of it, all throughout the day. I don't quite function in the morning until I've had my first cup. (Just ask my husband!)

One of my favorite ways to enjoy coffee is by flavoring it with specialty coffee creamers. However, I've never been thrilled with the use of un-natural ingredients found in these creamers, so I only use them on special occasions. Instead I put milk in my coffee because it's all natural and not made with chemicals and partially hydrogenated oils. (I've been trying hard to eat and drink healthy and put as many all natural foods in my body as possible.)

You can imagine how thrilled I was to visit the Coffee-mate Natural Bliss booth at BlogHer12. Have you heard of Coffee-mate Natural Bliss? It's coffee creamer made with only four simple ingredients: milk, cream, sugar and natural flavor. (The low-fat Vanilla flavor also contains carrageenan, a natural thickener.)

Even though I was excited to discover an all-natural coffee creamer, I was a little bit skeptical as to how it would taste. I mean, I think the unhealthy creamers are delicious, so could an all-natural creamer taste as good?

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only does Coffee-mate Natural Bliss taste as good as other, unhealthier options, I actually think it tastes even better. There's no chemical after-taste, just smooth and delicious flavor.

Coffee-mate natural bliss comes in 4 flavors: Vanilla, Sweet Cream, Caramel, and (my personal favorite) Low-fat Vanilla. It retails for &2.79 at grocery stores nationwide. (Find it in the dairy aisle!)

As a busy, coffee-loving (worshiping) mom, all-natural Coffee-mate Natural Bliss is an amazing product. I can savor my flavored coffee while still being healthy and not loading my body up with un-natural ingredients.

I love this product and am thrilled to announce that Coffee-Mate is going to offer one lucky A Baby Makes Four reader a chance to win free Coffee-mate Natural Bliss! Enter my raffle-copter giveaway, and if you win you will be sent 5 coupons, each worth a free bottle. Even if you don't win, I highly recommend you give this product a try.

*Disclosure: I was provided product for this review. All opinions are my own.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Chicken Pot Pie-Toddle Along Tuesday

I was so excited to see that this week's Toddle Along Tuesday over at Growing up Geeky is all about quick and simple meals.

My number one go-to simple meal is chicken pot pie. It's a family favorite, and rotates through our dinner repertoire several times a month.

Before I share the recipe I need to share the back story of how this recipe came to us. After all, don't all good meals have a story?

For those of you who don't know, we live on a college campus. My husband runs several residence halls and manages a staff of resident assistants. When Stephanie was born, one of those RAs, J, brought us a pot pie. When Dan told me she was making it, I said "I'm not a fan of pot-pie but I'm desperate for a hot meal, and it was so sweet of her to make for us!" And then I ate it, and realized what I had been missing all these years. The fact that J made this for us and shared her recipe with me ensures that she will always top my list of awesome people who made those first weeks of new motherhood more bearable!

It might not be the healthiest meal, but it's hearty, can be put together in less than 10 minutes, and is a "fix it and forget it" type of meal. I've since passed the recipe along to my sister, my mom and my best friend, all of whom make it frequently now. Stephanie gobbles it up, and it's a great way to get extra veggies into her. After Joseph was born, my sister made one and brought it to us, sealing it as our family "when a baby is born you bring it" meal. It was also the first meal I made for us when Dan went back to work after his 6 weeks of family leave.

The best part of this meal is that I can put it together at nap time, or even the night before. Then I just throw it in the oven an hour and fifteen minutes before we want to eat. So simple!

Ok, I've sung the pot-pie praises enough, now to the actual recipe!

Ingredients
- 1 or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- .5 of a 1lb package of mixed vegetables
- 1 can of diced potatoes
-  2 cans of Campbells cream of chicken soup (I use the 98% fat free kind)
- 1 refrigerated pie crust

Directions
*Mix soup, vegetables and potatoes together in a pie plate
*Dice the chicken into small pieces. Add to the soup mixture.
*Roll out the pie crust, spread on top of the pie plate, and cut a few slits in top for the steam to escape

*Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour. Take the pie out to cool for about 15 minutes. Dig in and enjoy!

*Tip: I bake my pie on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Sometimes it leaks, and this prevents a mess in the oven.

This is what's left after the 3 of us attack our meal on pot-pie night. (It's just as good leftover, and makes a perfect lunch!)

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Family Time on the Home Front

Family time. We get a lot of it around here. During "normal" times (meaning when Dan isn't in the middle of training his staff for the new school year) we spend a lot of time together. We eat breakfast and dinner together almost every day. After dinner and clean up we go for evening walks. On the weekends we try to plan fun things to do, even if that just means a trip to BJ's or Target. We enjoy our time as a family, and are making sure to soak up as much of it as possible before the kids get older and get into school and various activities.

All that family time is one of the reasons it's such a challenge when Dan is working constantly, like he is now. We aren't used to him leaving the house at 7:20 and not returning until long after the rest of us have gone to bed. It's hard on the kids not to see him, and it's hard on me. (And i'm not just saying that because he isn't here to help with dinner/baths/bedtime.)

The good thing about him being away so much these past three weeks is that we appreciate him so much more when we do get to see him. This past Saturday he was off work all day, which is typically unheard of this time of year.

When he first told me he was going to be home, we talked about having a fun family day. We could go here, or there, or here and there. But as it turned out, we stayed home all day. And it was one of the best family days we've ever had!

We ate all our meals together as a family. We hung around in our apartment and played with the kids. While they napped, Dan also napped. (Making up for the late night's of sleep.) We went for a lot of walks. We just enjoyed each other's company.

We proved to ourselves that we don't need to go anywhere and spend a lot of money to have good, wholesome family time. It's the being together that counts. And now we're all refreshed, and ready to tackle a new week of work!

*What are your favorite family activites? Do you prefer to stay home for your family time or leave  the house?

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Sibling Love

*I'm linking up over at Two in Diapers today! Come on over and check out all the stories of Motherhood in this week's edition of the Mommy-Brain Mixer! 

My eyes didn't want to open but I forced them to. I could see the early morning light shining behind the closed blinds. The fan was whirring, and the white noise from the kids' room was coming through the monitor. I didn't hear crying though. What woke me up?

Then I heard it again. A soft whisper, barely audible through the baby monitor. 

"Joseph! Wake up Joseph!"

Then again, a little louder this time. Next was rustling, and a quiet baby squeal. Then bouncing crib springs, and full on baby giggles followed by toddler squeals.

I laid in bed and just listened to them. They laughed and jumped and chatted. Nobody cried, nobody called out for me. They entertained each other. 

As I stretched out and woke up gradually, I found myself smiling from ear to ear. The love that the two of them have for each other is sweet, simple and beautiful. She is his hero, he is her baby. They share an unbreakable bond, and as Joseph grows it gets stronger and stronger. 

I see it throughout the day too, in the little moments. The times she cheers for him as he takes steps. The hugs and kisses she bestows on him for no reason. The way he follows her around, crawling as fast as he can to try and catch up. The way his face lights up and he grins ear-to-ear when she enters the room. 

They are my babies, but they have a relationship separate from me. This relationship will grow and alter as the years go on. They might not always worship each other the way they do now, but for as long as it lasts, I will relish it.

Some people told me I didn't know what I was getting into by having the two of them so close together. They warned me about the challeneges two under two and two in diapers would bring. But nobody mentioned the amazing and positive aspects of having them so close. The fact that they'll never know a life without each other in it. They will grow up together, protecting each other and always having someone to play with and argue with.

I get to watch them as their relationship changes and grows, and that warms my heart and makes me feel like the luckiest mommy in the world. Are they close in age? Yes. Are the day-to-day aspects of that a challenge? Often, yes. Would I change their age difference if I could? Not in a million years! 

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Mommy Brain: I have it

I have to apologize for taking a few days off from blogging. It wasn't intentional, but goes along with the theme of this post. I just simply kept forgetting what day it was and the fact that I needed to blog.

Seriously, I have a bad case of mommy brain. Please tell me i'm not the only one who gets afflicted by this! Back when Joseph was born, I would see this ailment cropping up, and I attributed it to the lack of sleep and adjusting to life with two children. Now, I have no idea what my problem is, except for the fact that I have a lot on my plate and my brain seems to be going in a million directions.

Here is a small sampling of the things I've done lately that just make me shake my head:

1. I took the kids to Panera for lunch over the weekend. I ordered our food (a half salad/sandwich combo for me) and handed the woman my rewards card. She told me I had a credit for $2 off a full salad that expired that day. I thought "OH I don't want to lose that coupon. It will save me money!" So I told her to add another salad onto the order and I'd take it to go. On the way home I realized I actually spent more money instead of saving, since I tacked an extra salad onto the order. I could have just changed my order to a full salad. (I still have half of that extra salad in my fridge. So much for saving money. Sigh.)


2. I jumped out of the car the other day and shut the door. The seat belt was stuck, so the door didn't shut. I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to shut the door over and over again before I realized it made more sense to remove the seat belt and then try to shut the door.

3. A week or so ago I had made plans to take the kids to the beach with some friends for dinner. That day came and went, and I got a Facebook message from my friend saying "We missed you guys last night!" I stared at the computer for a few minutes, completely baffled as to why she missed us. It took me a long time to realize that I had forgotten to meet them at the beach.


4. As I pulled into my driveway a few nights ago, I scraped the side of my car along our fence post. This is the same driveway that I've pulled into every day for four years. The fence hasn't moved position in that time, and yet...I totally hit it. (Stephanie yelled "WHAT WAS THAT MAMA!" at me and I honestly didn't know until I got out and looked at the car.) Luckily it wasn't hard enough to make a dent, and only left some paint from the fence post along the side of the car.

As i'm writing this I'm thinking "I know there were more examples that I wanted to share." But of course I can't remember them. Just rest assured that I am indeed suffering from Mommy Brain. I don't know what's going on with me at the moment, but if you need me for something...if i'm supposed to return a phone call, a text, an email, a tweet, etc., please don't hesitate to remind me. I'm not ignoring you on purpose, I promise! And if you have an remedy's for getting my regular brain back...please share! (I have a nagging feeling that I may be plagued by this until the kids grow up and move out...)

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