Thursday Randoms, Recipe, Deals, and More.

The Help. Andrew and I rented this movie this past weekend on our "date night" Saturday night. This movie and 2 others, ha. Can I just say... I cried, sobbed, like a big fat baby. Honestly. And? It was throughout the whole movie. It really moved me. It was a great movie to watch with such a great story behind it.

So. I highly recommend it.
The other favorite movie of the night? The teacher. HI-larious.

I am pleased {not really} with the face that I finally bit the bullet and called to schedule my root canal. And? It's for next Thursday. And? I expect a lot of love emails that day.

I accept care packages as well. I prefer milk chocolate and BLL.

Thank you in advance. XOXO.

Speaking of BLL. What if I gave it up for lent? I'm not Catholic or anything, but I figured since people are giving up twitter, blogging, chocolate, cursing, and their left leg for this stuff.... I might as well join the party and give up one of my favorites.

I thought this over while drinking BLL, and quickly decided that that was probably not a good idea.

I would probably go through withdrawals.
And the Man upstairs would surely not want that.

Let's bring our attention to this girls hair. As I am browsing through the food and wine magazine, I come across these locks of perfection and immediately decided that I needed to get my hair done.

And I want that exact color and highlights. The dark hair with the golden locks. Maybe throw in some red highlights in there as well?

Have I ever mentioned that I got red highlights before my wedding day? Yup. True story. That was pretty ballsy of me. But? It was amazing.

Raise of hands for those that have started and completed their DIY craft of the month. Yes? Yes? I am not raising my hand. No worries. I have an idea brewing in my head, and I have the whole weekend off this weekend, so I will squeeze time to work on it. Also? I have some changes coming to the craft of the month. And? You don't have to stick to the theme. That stuff makes me think too much.

Recipe. I made this the other night. Crack-pot barbecue chicken. And it was really good. Easy. And good.

My favorite part was the fact that I had it started late morning, and come 4pm? I didn't have to worry about hurrying to start dinner.

Besides making the sides, I was basically done. Now that's my kind of cooking.

Recipe here. Only thing is I didn't use frozen chicken.

This is the picture that pops up on my phone when the husband calls. And each and every time? It pulls at my heart strings.

I mean, was E really that small. And did time really fly by that fast? 

And is my husband that sexy. Yes. Yes. And Yes.

The end.

Anyone know how I go about getting rid of this "captcha" box when people comment. I didn't even know that my blogger was set like this. And I'm just now hearing about it.

So. Someone. Help a girl out. {I have the newer version of blogger btw}

The case of the bed hair. E has it bad. Her hair is growing like crazy these days {and I'm loving it}. And one of my ultimate favorite things is baby girl in the morning, in her pjs, with the wildest hair. And those sleepy i-just-woke-up-mama eyes.

Oh my precious child, how much I love you.

My precious sleeping. It is just the sweetest thing in the world. Can you believe that she is getting so big? I know I can't. And I know I say it every day... but to see her in this crib, all sprawled out... makes me reminisce of the baby days. But, oh do I LOVE watching her grow.

Chicken noodle soup. It's an ultimate favorite in the house, and it is about the only way I can get E to eat chicken. She devours the bowl. Each and every time. No worries, I do too ;)

I make a whole pot full, and then freeze some for later. Win win. Recipe coming SATURDAY!

$17.00 dollars for 2 personalized books {including shipping}

New members, or 20 dollars for current members.

Heyo! Plum District is having this deal again. I bought these books for E and my nephew for Christmas. They were a hit with my nephew, and E just looks through the pages right now at all the pretty pictures.

Anywho, you personalize these books with their name, their "friend's names," or like mama, papa, grandma, etc. And their birthdate. And then the story includes THEM!

Freaking genius. So? Christmas shopping? Birthday. You would totally be the mom of the year. For sure. Plus, if you are new to plum district, click here and get 5 dollars off your order instantly. And? Use code: visa10 to get another 10% off.

FREE shipping on the books. Grand total?: 17 dollars for 2 books {including shipping}. GO HERE.

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For your information. This post was worked on at 4am {after a night of drinking BLL}. Which brings me to the conclusion that  1. This stuff must have crack in it, since I become some sort of power woman on a mission the day after. and 2. I need to drink more of it.

The end.

Thursday, err, Friday Randoms

Yes. I do realize that it is Friday. And my randoms post is usually on Thursday.... But things are a little off this week with the craziness of the link-up going on. So bare with me... this little blog of mine will be back to normal next week {I hope}.

So. Onto randoms. As usual, anything and everything goes. All things random.

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My little shopper. That would be E. Over the weekend, Andrew and my MIL went out to lunch then shopping for the day.  We were mainly looking for items for our new bedroom that we are remodeling. 

Elliana was fabulous in the stores. However... out to lunch? At Panera? She was a hands full, to say the least. Girlfriend does not like to sit still for one second. And when you try to make her? The temper tantrums then come out.

And me? I get all hott and nervous inside. Lets.Get.Out!

 Adults play. Oh friends, we had such a great weekend. Husband and I had my best friend over {who lives in Chicago}, and I finally got to meet her boyfriend for the first time.

Well. Let's just say everyone had a little too much fun.

A shot here. A shot there. Beer. Wine. You name it, we drank it.

And what happens when boys try to prove their drinking power? They both wind up puking all night/day and being worthless. Lovely.

And that would be us. Kissey face. Can we please talk about how, before baby, Andrew and I took like ten million trillion pictures together {and most of them looking something like that}. And post baby, there are like zero? We get maybe one every couple of months.

It's kind of depressing and I need to do something about it.

Right away.

Appetizers are the best. So instead of making dinner that night {Saturday night} we made a bunch of appetizers. We hung out in the kitchen all night and munched.

Most the food? Was gone by morning.

However, it was a very calorie-filled night and now I need to not eat for a couple of days. Or weeks. Maybe months.

Oy.

And this would be a picture of Andrew on the ground passed out that night. You know...

When girls get together and drink? They gossip, and make it a fun social event.

When guys get together and drink? It's all about who can drink the most. Silly boys. And silly Andrew, as I was stuck cleaning up his "mess" that night.

Baby sleeping. Why is a baby sleeping the most adorable thing in the whole entire world?

E sleeps in all sorts of funny positions. Every night that we check on her she is in a completely different spot. 10 minutes later? She can be again on the other side in some awkward position.

I probably have over 100 pictures of my phone of all her different positions.

And i LOVE every single one of them.

And since we are all about the "passed out" pictures. Can we please talk about how I passed out at 9pm the other night on the couch? We had just put E to bed at 730... hubby and I got all cozy on the couch together... turned on our favorite shows... and what do you know? I am out cold. I literally don't remember a thing after that.

I guess I needed to catch up on some sleep, huh?

Okay. Who is sick and tired of me posting pictures of my food yet? It's been almost a daily thing around here... especially the desserts. More specifically, the banana cake and lemon cake.

Which, can I just say, it had been like 6 months since I made either one. And in the past 2 weeks? I have made them like 6 times... if not more.

And this last time? Was for the work superbowl party... and it was a hit.

Speaking of food. I tried this new recipe out this week... and it is like up there on my favorite list. Like up HIGH!

I loved it! The whole family loved it. Husband? Well he would have much preferred it be stuffed with turkey, better yet, beef.

But mama over here had to make sure it was somewhat healthy, so chicken it was.

I tweaked the recipe a bit... 2.5 pounds chicken, 9 lasagna rolls, a bunch of spinach, no white pepper. Mozarella cheese on top, topped with basil. PERFECTION.

Jamie on the Bachelor. OMG. Did anyone else squirm in their seat the whole time during their "kissing session."?

It was the most awkward thing in the whole entire world. I could not believe what I was watching.

Is this girl serious? Was this really happening right before my eyes? Do we really give instructions to kissing?

Oh poor poor Jamie. And the worst part? It was caught on national television.

Wow. I don't even have words to express how amazing this link-up has been and how much fun it has been to read your guys' stories. Even though, I have SO much more reading to do. I am only 25% through the stories {actually, much less}. Every time I read a story, another one gets added on. And obviously life doesn't stop. But I will get through them, even if it takes a couple of weeks.

Many of you have told me how much you guys liked it and how you have found some great blogs through it. That is so awesome!





So how's that for random. Time for me to go to sleep as I worked last night... and wait, hold on, I'm working AGAIN tonight {overtime}. Why? Because they are super short. I'm sweet like that {ha}. But really, there are some dollar signs attached to the bonus for doing so. How could I say no?

Let's just hope I don't regret this decision later. And we won't talk about how I picked up another OT shift on Sunday. Oh no, we won't even go there....

Thursday Randoms

Thursday Randoms. The day of the week where we talk about all things random. Things that happened this week. Things we did this past weekend. Thoughts on my mind. Reality TV junk. Picture dumps. Elli updates. Nothing is off limits.Anything goes.

So if you are looking for "life" updates. This is the day to find it. You can also find me on twitter and instagram {frommrstomama} for updates as life happens.

If you ever have any questions about anything listed in Thursday randoms, just aks in the comments and I will try to answer them either through email, or on the following "Thursday Randoms" Post.
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Mama and baby. This my friends is the exact reason why I chose to switch from day shift to night. Because I get to never miss a moment with my precious daughter. We have the most fun together. We giggle all day. We roll around on the bed. And she is my best friend.

And I am so so lucky to be her mother.

Our bond is so strong already, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us. She is my everything. 

Salmon dinner. Is always one of my favorites in this house. We have it about 1-2 times a month, and I always enjoy making it.

We discovered this salmon recipe last year and it's hard for me to try any other kind.

Super easy, quick, and lick-fingering-tasty-good.

I like to serve it with mashed potatoes with an assortment of veggies. Sometimes I will serve it with rice. Recipe here.

E and C. Girlfriend follows this nugget around the house all day long.

She even follows him into the cage. But then she forgets that she is no longer a little itty baby and tries to stand up and knocks her little noggin.

It doesn't bother her. As long as she can be with her puppy dog, then that is all that matters.

C? He really would much rather be left alone. #partypooper

Bedroom furniture.
Why yes friends, hat would be a big furniture in front of my house that delivered my beloved master bedroom goodies last week.

I was like a kid on Christmas.

This had been a long over-due project for us, and I am so happy that we finally got our furniture.

Now? We need to start decorating!!

Home Tour. Thanks everyone that answered my question last week about the before and after pictures. Your input is much appreciated! So here is the down-low.

I have split up the home tour between 3 posts. Part 1 will be about our home buying experience and how we chose our home. Part 2 will be the "before" pictures of certain rooms, and part 3 will be the "After" pictures of those rooms.

Part 4 will be the remaining rooms, however those rooms still have a few finishing touches, so this one will be published much later than the first 3. Part I,2,3 will be February 20th-21s-22nd.

All natural Waffles. I picked these up a couple weeks ago and Elliana tried them for the very first time.

It was definitely a hit, and I will be buying more in the future.

I've mentioned before that E has had the same breakfast for the past... I don't know 9 months? She obsesses over her bananas,oatmeal, and milk. But once in a while, I throw her off with something different.

She seems to be okay with it. But definitely not as happy as she is when she has her "favorite meal of the day."

Nutella. I fell in love with this stuff when I was in my 6th grade German class. This is the shit in Europe.

Ever since? I am a sucker for nutella. I can eat it with just about anything. Bananas? Strawberries? Bread? Crackers? A spoon? Why yes, please.

It is heaven on earth.

Unfortunately, I cannot control myself when this stuff is around {it'll be gone by next week}... so I limit myself to buying this once every 6 months or so. YUM.

The tooth devil again delivered bad news. That tooth that chipped while I was pregnant? My sweet little molar? Welp.. yup... it chipped so bad that now I have to get a root canal. Really? Really! Are you serious?

How did I ever get so lucky.

Have I ever mentioned how much I despise the dentist? Seriously. It is a hate hate relationship.

Yes, he loved it. Thanks everyone for all the sweet comments on my craft that I did for the husband for our anniversary/valentine's day. He loved it! But... tell me why no one cared to mention that November is the 11th month of the year... not the 10th. Ya. Thanks a lot guys.... ha.

PSA: DO NOT drink and craft past midnight. Ever.

Homemade pizza round two. Was waaayyy better than round one. I mean honestly guys... this is even more delicious than the pizza from donatos. Okay, maybe like papa johns. But lick fingering good. And you all begged for the recipe. So I begged husband for the recipe.... And after a few favors {wink}, he gave me the links.

Pizza dough recipe link
Pizza sauce recipe link 
Ingredients: add whatever you'd like! We use mozarella cheese, bacon, banana peppers, mushrooms, etc.
Bake at 500 for 12-15 minutes.
  
Meet Molly. She's gorgeous. Sweet as can be. Engaged, soon to be a WIFE, funny, and I LOVE her blog.

She recently got a blog makeover and I think it is the cutest thing ever. Obviously, because she's the cutest thing ever!

Go check her out!

What's your love story. Don't forget the link-up will be posted on February 7th! Next tuesday.

Click on the link to get the questions to answer if you haven't already.
I cannot wait to read what everyone answers.
And I cannot believe that V-DAY is in less than 2 weeks! EEK!
If you are working on your posts, here is the HTML for the button!! <a border="0" href="http://www.frommrstomama.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRy647IxKhW1-lsLIwBQ0W5Sg_CeyQ2Z5hbW2o-uDjV14Gts2Ci-T4lB7epVV-qsFT-0R-ZkUAAcYdwWhfsWfUEvpShR4D1UAH_pY2VJ9pTL93p6-xP4ljPcHPlqntryyiHBZ6799ZAZb/s1600/Untitled.png" /></a>

 February is here!! Thank you to all who participated in the January craft link up {love}. It was fun to see what all your creative minds have been up to!

Do you guys enjoy this link up? Is this something that you will look forward to the following months? I had in mind for February green. It can be St. Patricks day related. It can be anything "environment" related. DIY home products. A project that has the color green in it. ETC!

Also? What do you think about the themes? Or should I completely leave it as ANYTHING goes? Themes or no? I NEED YO HELP!
VOTE FOR ME.
Hey. I'm going to beg here. But seriously, I've met some pretty cool mamas through this baby blog site... and if you like what you read? It just takes one click! Click on the owl and your vote will be in!

I would give you something fabulous... but the rules say no no. Okay click here! {or click icon}
 

 PRODUCT OF THE WEEK. Yo. I love this link-up that Aly and Tiffanie came up with. I'm a big fan of products... and I present to you the "gag" gift that I got all the boys for Christmas... that turned into... A FAVORITE IN OUR HOUSE!

Check it {yes, I just said that}. You grab a bottle {of beer or soda, sorry wine lovers}, you put this on the top, pull up, and wa-la, the cap is off! Seriously? It's a genius I tell you. Genius! I've read reviews that the spring has broken on some people... so far? It's been a month mind you, but it's been awesome! NOW, GO LINK UP!

Thursday Randoms

Thursday Randoms. The week where we talk about all thing random. Things that happened this week. Things we did this past weekend. Thoughts on my mind. Reality TV junk. Picture dumps. Elli updates.Nothing is off limits.Anything goes.

So if you are looking for "life" updates. This is the day to find it. You can also find me on twitter and instagram {frommrstomama} for updates as life happens.

If you ever have any questions about anything listed in Thursday randoms, just as in the comments and I will try to answer them either through email, or on the following "Thursday Randoms" Post.


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DIY craft link-up sneak peek. There it is guys. The link-up will be posted next Tuesday {the 31st} where we will link up our "Love" crafts. I worked on mine for hours. After posting all my ideas on crafts on Friday, I decided I still wanted to do something that was unique and special for my husband. I kind of went with it... didn't have this idea starting out.. but I am so happy with the finished product. I can't wait to show you guys what it is! In the meantime, enjoy this little sneak peek!

 So, check out my craft board, get some ideas together, and start crafting away! Link-up will be up at 7 am on the 31st! Tuesday!

And this is the mess my little craft made. Ha. It was 4 am. I had worked hard. My thoughts were scatter brained all over. Obviously you can tell per the picture.

It was fun though, I have to admit it. But I need to learn how to be crafty and organized at the same exact time.

Is this even possible?

Because, I am totally the same way in the kitchen.

Too much sleep, tired mama. I've learned that I run on best 5 hours of sleep max. Sometimes 6. Anything more {which happens a lot}, then I am super tired. I know that may sound goofy to a lot of you. But honestly, if I get 8-10, sometimes 12 hours of sleep... I wake up exhausted. I even have to take a nap. Less is more. Call. me. crazy.

Valentine's Day Pinterest print out. Now resides in my kitchen. It is so cute! I love it. I think I would have preferred for it to be in a white frame, however, I actually kind of like it in the black as well. I will be out hunting down a white one though next weekend. But seriously, I have been missing out on all these crazy free print outs on pinterest! I plan on printing a new one every month {holidays, etc}. I use white card stock paper to print them off on.

If you want to print some of the print-outs that I have pinned, here is a direct link to my print-out board.

Elli draws. While mama cooks. Obviously she's more interested in eating the crayons and throwing them, however from time to time, she does get a little line in here and there.

So it gets me excited for this next year when she really starts getting into this kind of stuff.

I can't wait to draw with her. Work on crafts together. Gets me all sorts of excited.

Soup. Have you noticed a trend lately? I've been cooking up a whole lot of soup these days. Why? Because I grew up eating soup every day as a child/teen. My mom made a different soup a day. 5 days a week.

At the time? I hated it.

Now? I appreciate, and I try to do the same for my baby girl. And so far? She loves soup! Yup!

And this new recipe I tried? Can be found here. YUM!

Home Tour. So I have part one of my home tour post done. I had asked this question on twitter, and I'll ask here as well... should I include "before" pictures. I mean, guys, we ripped our house upside down. Everything about it changes. Tore out floors, bathrooms, painted EVERY room, tore up ceilings, lightings... you name it, we did it. That being said, I have tons of before pictures. Should I do a post first on the "before" and then show the "After" the next day? Or include it in the same post? If I include it in the same post, it will be mass picture overload and I am afraid people will miss the details. So, what do you think?

So this is what it's like to be up at 5 am. On Friday, I had a "mandatory" class for work. My mom came over to watch the baby E and I was up bright and early getting ready. As I drove to the hospital I realize that, wow, this is what it used to be like when I worked day shift.

It was kind of... nice. To listen to the radio in the morning. Grab a starbucks.

However, not nearly as nice as waking up to the baby girl and spending all day with her.

Elli slept for 4 hours 2 days in a row. Speaking of the baby girl. Girlfriend has been rockin' the naps. The past 2 days her first nap was 4 hours long, and on the first day she even took an additional nap for 45 minutes. I probably should have put her down for another nap yesterday like I did the day before, however, I felt like she wanted to play.



Wrong. She was miss cranky pants by 6.

1k follower giveaway. I have emailed some of the sponsors that were a part of the giveaway and have not heard back for the additional information needed. Therefore, at this point, I am going to go ahead and hold off for the giveaway. I am sorry that I was not able to put this idea together, however, I am planning on doing a giveaway here soon. So be on the lookout for that.

Sister's birthday party. I wrote about it here. And by wrote, I mean showed a lot of pictures. Anyways, my sister turned 17 and Elliana made sure to dress very classy for the big party.

And I have to admit, she was pretty darn cute. Necklace, bracelet, hose, fur boots, big flower headband, dress with a matching coat.

Yes, girlfriend has some style.

Lemon drizzle loaf. I made this twice this week.


It is hands down one of my favorite recipes to make. It is so easy, tasty, refreshing, and I always have all the ingredients on hand.

Want the recipe? I posted it here. Some readers have tried it before and emailed me that they loved it, so I am confident that you will too.

How does Carson deal. E is totally obsessed with c-man. I think that I have mentioned this many times before, but seriously, I cannot say it enough, girl is in love. Her face lights up when she sees him, and that dog can work wonders around her.

Unfortunately? he gets the shaft 90% of the day.

A kick here. A punch there. And now? A head-lock. Ha.

More power to him for staying so strong.

Pots and pans.

The latest craze.

As you can probably see... they go flinging and flying in our kitchen. That and tupperware.

Yay for me.

What is your LOVE story link up. Did you see m post on the link-up info? If not, go check it out.

You can get a head start on your post too because the questions are listed in there.

Share pictures, as many or as little as you'd like.

And post your love story on February 7th and come back and link-up, hop around, and meet new lovers!




Monica. She went home this week on the bachelor. Lets talk about her departure why don't we. She totally didn't strike me as the girl who gets emotional. Distraught. A mess. But girlfriend was just that. And I liked her. In fact, I still do. It just breaks my heart that these girls, including herself, get so into this guy that they barely know... on a show... where they compete with each other. And then they leave crying? Oh lord. Common, you have better chances on match.com!

Courtney. Now lets talk about this nutso why don't we. Is she weird or is she weird? I mean, not only is she a complete queen B, but she is totally awkward, says weird things, and one immature woman. If you even want to call her a woman. She acts like a wild animal.

Someone needs to tame her.

Product of the week. I am linking up again with Aly and Tiffani for their product of the week series. This week? It's one of my beloved items in the kitchen. The quesadilla maker.

I mean, this girl over here is obsessed with taco bell quesadillas... so when we got one of these for x-mas last year? I was seriously in heaven.

We use this thing around 2 times a month! YUM YUM!

It goes hand in hand with BLL. Just suggestin'.