It's a love/hate relationship...

Every month I go to the OB to hear my baby's heartbeat and to tell the doctor "No...I don't have any questions."  Today, however, was different.

I occasionally drink what my mother-in-law calls "vinegar-ade".  It consists of a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (WITH the mother) and a tablespoon of honey mixed together in warm water.  Makes you want to hurl, right?  I felt the same way when I first started drinking it.  I would hold my nose and force it down a little bit at a time.  Now...I actually enjoy it.  :)




If you're thinking I'm BEYOND crazy right now, google the health benefits of apple cider vinegar.  You will be amazed!  And the more people I talk to about it, the more I realize there are a lot of folks out there who are drinking the same stuff.  (Some people actually just take a shot of it straight...umh-not me.)

So I've been drinking my "vinegar-ade" when one day it hit me.  "I wonder if I'm supposed to drink this since I'm pregnant?"  So...I googled it. :)  There were mixed opinions, but I knew I was headed to the doctor in a few days.

Fast forward to today.  My doctor walks in, asks how I've been feeling, comments on how she is surprised I'm pregnant again (this is the doctor that delivered Mia), and then asks if I have any questions.  You should have seen her face when I told her what I've been drinking.  haha! It looked something like the girl on the right.   My doctor asked me so many questions about it (out of curiosity of WHY I was drinking something that smelled like Easter egg dye), but concluded that she thought it was perfectly safe for me to continue drinking it.


As I drove home, I kind of chuckled to myself.  It IS a pretty gross drink, and I guess I thought it was more common than it is.  haha...who knows though.  After she googles the benefits of drinking it, she may become a fan of vinegar-ade too!

Do any of YOU drink it or know anyone that does?

sweet feet

These little feet mean so much to me.
I love that they learned to walked at 10 months.
I love that Caleb gets Mia to bite them even when they are dirty.
I love that she only wants to put them in her bright pink Crocs.
I love that when something gets stuck on the bottom of one of them, she sometimes tips over backwards trying to get it off.
I love that she always wants me to pretend like I am going to eat them.
I love that they get a little clammy like her Daddy's.
I love that they don't like to walk barefoot in the grass.
I love that they RUN when she is excited to see someone.
I love that they have learned to climb stairs.
I love that they stomp when she hears "If you're happy and you know it...".
I love that they get really dirty during the day and squeaky clean in the tub.
I love that they don't really care for socks.
I love, love, LOVE to kiss them, rub them, look at them, and can't wait to one day paint them.
These are the sweet little feet of my Mia Jubilee.
The feet that will one day lead her through amazing places full of breath taking experiences.
Boy do I love these two little feet!

spanakopita anyone?

I feel like I'm always trying to find more things that Mia can eat (without having to take a bath when she is finished) and something that is NOT a fruit or veggie.  (Come on people, fruits and veggies get old after a while.  Mia could LIVE off of fruit, chick peas, green beans, squash, zucchini, and broccoli.)   Well, add a tally to the list, because Mia is now a GIANT fan of Spanakopitas!  Never had them before?  Head on over to Costco and buy a box!  You will definitely NOT be sorry that you did.

The first time I ever tasted this yumminess was at a wedding.  Needless to say, I made several trips back to the food table throughout the night just to let my taste buds in on the party.  Although I've talked about them ever since that night, I haven't eaten Spanakopitas until Super Bowl Girls' Night.

All of the guys went to one house to watch the game, eat pizza, chili, and veggie trays  The ladies, however, spent the night chatting, laughing, watching a tad bit of the game, but mostly eating food that looked like it had been catered by a professional company.  (Mmmm...it's bringing back memories.)  One of the foods of the night were Spanakopitas.  And yes, I even made a little "take home bag" of them at the end of the night.  Seriously...who needs dessert when you have some sort of scrumptious spinach mixture baked in a light flaky crust?

So during my most recent visit to Costco I remembered several friends had told me I could find them there.  Ahhh...fast forward a couple of days...My family and I have probably gained a few, well worth it, pounds.

The best thing about Spanakopitas is that Mia LOVES them.  She asks for more and more and more.  Cha-ching!  There you have it folks.  Another yummy, and somewhat healthy food that Mia can't get enough of!  "winning"  haha!

In laws...

While most people try to steer clear of their in-laws, I happen to enjoy being around mine very much.  Caleb and I used to hang out with them as a couple when we were dating/newlyweds.  Seriously...we would watch American Idol, play cards, battle on the wii, ring in the new year, or even just sit around and talk until it was wayyyy past our bedtime.  Now that we have our sweet Mia though, times have changed.  Our curfew is now around 8:00-8:30 if we want to have any sanity by the end of the night.  So we usually try to hang out with them during the daytime.

My mother-in-law is always inviting the family over to eat (and boy can this lady cook)!  The only time we ever turn her down is if we absolutely just cannot make it.  I love when March 16th rolls around, because I know that she is going to want to cook for my birthday, but I also know that her birthday is the day after mine which means we will get to celebrate twice!!!!  Talk about fun, right?

We all got together to celebrate another year of her life yesterday.  We had pizza, TCBY, and the kids had ice cream sundaes.  (Can you tell that my father-in-law was in charge of the meal this time?)  After we filled our bellies, we headed outside.  Well...MOST people headed outside.  Christi, my good friend and sister-in-law, and I found ourselves sitting at the table talking while our AMAZING in-laws entertained our kids. :)  It was GLORIOUS!!!  Seriously... I didn't have to worry about Mia at all!!! And when we finally did make our way outside, it just made me smile.

Papa was driving Mia around on the golf cart while Noni hunted for frogs under logs with the kiddos.  Then next thing you know, Noni, the kids, and the dogs come trudging through the woods with a "blob" of something they found by the swamp.  (They think it is frog eggs, so they put them in the pond.)  The kids picked up worms, Mia ran around everywhere, got to swing, the kids played and played, all while Christi and I sat on the deck and chatted.  AHHHHH!  Can you picture the bliss?!!!  It gets even better, people!  They continued to feed us until we FINALLY left around 8:30.  Spoiled?  Umh...I like to call it "blessed".  :)

This is just a snapshot of ONE DAY with my in-laws.  They are constantly serving, feeding, and entertaining us (and our kids).  Could life get any better?  As far as in-laws go, I'm going to have to say "no".

I think Mia would agree.  She LOVES Caleb's parents and cries when they leave her.  Below is a picture of Papa reading to Mia on the swing.  He was working on our pergola, but Mia spotted him and had to have some alone time with him. :)

Happy Birthday to Mia!

Noni in her element. (I'm glad SHE is the one picking up the bugs.  No thanks.)

Having fun with Papa...

I LOVE this picture.  This is what they did when they found out Mia was FINALLY here.  You should see these people dance! :)

Don't be jealous of me just because I have GREAT in-laws.  There's plenty to go around! :)  They love to love people!!!

The Bee Movie

My intentions were to update this blog regularly.  Not only for friends and family that we don't get to see very often, but to document our busy lives.  Needless to say, I haven't done a very good job at that.  Have no fear though!...the line from the Bee Movie "This time!  This time!  This time!" has been playing over and over in my head.  So I'm going to try this again.  And THIS TIME I'm hoping to keep up with it. :)

Life has been crazy, but it has been SO great!  Mia Jubilee is such a fun addition to our family.

Splashing in the Tub!

It's been a year FULL of "Jubilee"!

What was I doing this time last year?  Probably sleeping!  32 hours of no food or water + a looonnng delivery = one tired new mommy!  It was soooo much fun though.  (as I look back a year later) haha!

Caleb and I could not be any happier to have Mia Jubilee in our lives.  We still feel like we are in the "newlywed" stage of parenting.  We still stare at her while she sleeps, thank Father for her ALL the time, stare at her while she plays, talk about how AMAZING she is, love on her, laugh at her, and tell her we love her 100 times a day.  I used to joke around saying that Mia probably thought "I love you" was her name because I said it to her so often.  Needless to say, we are STILL smitten.

Even though it made me a little sad to see how time flew by the first few months of her life, I'm not sad that she is turning one.  I was intentional about trying to really soak up every single day so far and feel like it's helped me be ready for this first birthday.  My baby is one, but my baby is still a baby.  :)  And a very JOYFUL one at that.

Just a little glimpse into our daily life with Mia.  We were driving to our friends' house last night and all of a sudden we hear Mia chuckling in the back seat.  She couldn't see us at all, but she had put her monkey on top of her head and was waiting for us to notice.  She thought it was so funny!  When we did notice, I said "Where's Mia?" and she giggled a little longer before pulling the monkey off of her face and doing it again.  This little girl is seriously FULL of joy.  She LOVES to play jokes and make people laugh.  She is just plain 'ol FUN!

So if you're needing a laugh, just come visit!  We love all of you so much and are thankful for all of your love for our sweet little ONE year old! :)

Have a great day!