Whew...

Its sure been awhile.  I've been contemplating the purpose of this blog lately.  I started it for sewing projects and well...lets just say I don't have time right now for sewing and I don't have a spot for my sewing machine in the new house.  So either turn off the blog (is there a way to archive my posts?) or keep it up and have it all about the fam and food and travels and ??? Ohh boy, that sounds kinda boring, I mean is anyone reading this anymore?

I need to back track to 4/29, Sloaney turned 5 months! And in keeping with tradition here is her 5 month picture.

5 months

 Sloane started rice cereal and baby food this month.  She loves it.  I have decided to make her food.  I didn't do this with Davis, but I'm loving it and surprised at how easy it is.  My girlfriend bought me the Baby Love book and the recipes are the best!

Mothers Day! 

I don't have alot of pics of either of the kids right now. 

I think the move has taken a toll on me, definitely my picture taking skills.

Davis is hilarious these days.  All he talks about is Baseball.  The kid really loves it and I have to say (unbiased) that he is really good at it.  I'm bummed he can't join little league for a few years.  If anyone knows of a Tball program for kids under 5 let me know.  I'm not joking when I say its all he talks about...ie; "what did you dream about last night, Davis?"  "Ichiro and hitting home runs".  

New house?? Its great but its taken alot longer than I had planned to get settled.  Furniture/rugs are ordered for most rooms and we are slowly coming along.  I'll post some before/after pics soon.

Soo much

So much going on these days.  Just trying to keep my witts about me and not stress out.  You would think one in their right mind would not plan to have a baby, put a house on the market, sell a house and buy another, pack up a house, start a remodel, start their baby in daycare, return to work, all in 4 months....RIGHT!  A bit much right now.  But...it will all come together, at least thats what I keep telling myself.

Speaking of 4 months...this little sugar muffin is 4 months as of the 29th.

And since this is now a recipe blog (not really) I'll leave you with a great roast recipe.  Not sure if I've mentioned it but we buy part of a grass fed cow each  year.  I highly recommend it, you'll never eat beef from a grocery store again! 

Giadas Stracatto (Pot Roast) with Porchini Mushrooms.  I don't have to tell you that its easy, afterall I made it and I only make easy recipes.  Its delicious with a capital D!  Seriously your husbands will swoon over you...and lets face it who doesn't want that.

Packed away..

I was starting to second guess myself and my counting abilities early last week.  I kept thinking I had until 4/11 or 4/19 to go back to work, after all Davis was 4.5 months when I went back.  But something wasn't adding up so I called HR....sure enough I have to go back on 4/4.  I'm a mixed bag of feelings right now...excitement, sadness, anxious, nervous, and bummed I won't be able to hang with my sweet girl everyday!  She really is a doll.

I had wanted to get a few sewing projects done before we moved.  Brandon talked me back into reality and all my fabric, sewing machine and tools are packed away, bummer.

Since I won't have any sewing projects to share for awhile, I thought I'd share another recipe (what is this a recipe blog now?!).  I made this lasagna the other weekend, it was great and my meat loving husband liked it too.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

[Giada via Food Network]

P.S.  use Trader Joe's already cut/package Organic Butternut Squash, so much easier.

Stewing

Everytime I close my eyes at night all I can stew over is what I want to do to the new house and the area's that need tackled but I have no clue on what to do with them.  So there's been alot of stewing over the new house lately. 

I'm one of those types that would like to move in and have it all done from top to bottom, decorated and family pictures hung.  Kinda like those design shows....guess thats unrealistic ;)

I also wanted to share with you a VERY tasty stew recipe that we've been using for the past year.  I always hesitated to make stew because growing up my mom would make stew and I have to tell you....it was so gross!  No taste, chewy meat, soggy carrots, etc.  Sorry Mom, I know you read this, but it wasn't one of your better recipes.  I like to use good quality meat for this because I think it makes a huge difference.

Classic Beef Stew

[real simple]

Pass along any of your favorite design websites, furniture stores, lighting stores, etc.

Thats a record!

I updated this blog once in February! HA, what a joke.  Ohh well.  Lots has happened since my last update.

• The house went on the market and came right back off the market 5 days later.  2 offers later it was SOLD.  Bittersweet really.  I love this house, I love that we had our kids here, and I love the neighborhood.  But all good things must come to an end.
• We started the house hunt....that was interesting.  Instead of getting into it, I'll leave you with this.  Whoever says there aren't buyers out there are LYING.  There are, and the good houses get snatched up quickly, whats left on the market are crap houses that nobody has updated nor taken care of.  Catch a clue people (not you people) and put a little TLC into your houses.
• We purchased a new house in LO.  Great area and cute little house.  Its a bit 80's so we are going to do some updating before we move in.  The good news is the kitchen and baths were updated, so we'll just take care of the rest.  I can't wait to do before/after pics.  Should be fun.
• Brandon is in China for two weeks.  I'm lonely, I love having my buddy around.
• Davis went to Reno for 5 days,I miss him tons!
• Sloane and I are BFF's! Love this girl and she turned 3 months today (well technically on 2/29, which doesn't exist).
• Sloane decided it was time to sleep all through the night 11 hours...ok, that makes it sound luxurious...we've been working hard on this the last few weeks.  It finally clicked, now if I could just sleep through the night.

I thought I should take some pics of her nursery before we move, and because I had said I would have done that before I had her.

 

I want to take pictures of her in her chair each month.

Here is month 1...don't look for month 2, it doesn't exist ;)

Month 3

Just a few fun shots

 She recently discovered her tongue!



I'm here..

Just a bit busy with this

and this

I'd much prefer to be busy with the first one.  She is so sweet! I can't stop kissing her and snuggling.  Overall she is a great baby.  If you don't know me too well, I will admit that I'm a bit of a crazy woman about sleep and teaching my children healthy sleep habits.  Not sure why, but I am. I hired a sleep coach for Davis at 10 weeks and by 12 weeks he was sleeping 12 hours at night and napping like a champ.  Sure enough I hired a different one for Sloane, one a little less hardcore and its been working well.  Last night she slept from 7:30-2:30 and then woke up again at 7!  Thank you little lady, I needed some uninteruppted sleep.

Davis has been hilarious lately, sometimes I can't believe what comes out of his mouth...too much and always a good laugh (well the funny parts, not the sassy parts).  Three years old is a tough age, throw a baby sister into the mix and well...it can make for some difficult moments.

{Erica Cunningham Photography}

As for the house....welll we want more room and I think we want to move to the Westside.  Not deep into the burbs but somewhere a bit closer to work.  Its a hard decision for me, I LOVE the Eastside.

I thought I'd cover a few of my favorite things, since babies and house stuff is what I'm immersed in right now thats what its about!
FAVORITE THINGS...at the moment

I am a bit obsessed with headbands at the moment.  While browsing Etsy I found Lou and Lee.  I ordered one to see how well they were made.  It came yesterday...dangerous! They are awesome, can't wait to order more.

While on the subject of headbands, I also love these from Blooming Bows.

Ohh and these by Zuzii. 

These are my new favorite workout pants! So comfy and they make your tush look good (as good as it can be with baby weight on it).

Nike Dri-fit Be Bold Slim Fit Capri

(thats my body ladies!) J/K!

We received this for Christmas, we were using a $5.00 Mr. Krups before this (I'm cheap about certain things) and I gotta say, other than having someone from Barista in my house making me coffee every morning, this is the next best thing.  I can't drink coffee (sniff, sniff) but the hot chocolate is amazing!

And lastly I have to give some love to Marsha Podd. She is the sleep consultant we used. I just think everyone knows someone who could use one so why not share her details. No, they don't come into your home at night and take care of the baby, they use techniques and tactics to help your baby get on a good routine, sleep schedule and basically tell you how to do it instead of trying to figure it out yourself.    You can call me crazy, I really don't mind.  A happy, sleeping baby is a happy Meghan.

Got any favorites to share?

A Little Chicken Ragu With Them Noodles

Its a bit busy around here, I'll fill you in shortly.  Wait...that makes it sound really exciting...its not.

In the meantime I thought I'd leave you with a tasty recipe I tried last night.  It was easy (of course) and didn't take as long as it said.

Linguine with Chicken Ragu-- Giada De Laurentiis.  Here is the original recipe, but I found this step by step guide here.  Kind of clever.  It uses Giada's basic marinara sauce, which I love! Its SO EASY and great to freeze and use later.  I won't buy pre-made marinara again after making this.

Enjoy!