Nailritz

RAWR! Girls these nail kits are so much fun. My Mom in Law got me the Jewel Tone, Princess and French kit. She found them at the Tx state fair but you can also order them online from Nailritz.

Each tube has 2 different colors. Every tube has an attached brush and pen tip.

This was my first time to play around with them. I attempted the Fireworks design since that seemed fitting for bringing in the New Year! I am not very good at drawing designs on my nails. But maybe with some practice I'll get some impressive nail art skills!


Who has tried Nailritz? I've seen some beauty bloggers that are just naturally great at doing nail designs. These kits make it easier for beginners like me. I have really been neglecting my hands & nails lately. I have to keep them short so I don't scratch my newborns delicate skin. Note to self- start using hand lotion. Oh and I must add that every kit comes with an instruction book of different designs to try. How neat is that?!

Zander is One Month

Where does the time go?!

Our little boy is now One Month Old.

Let's compare how much he has grown.

November 23 vs. December 29

Weight- 7lbs, 7oz/ 10lbs, 2oz
Height- 19.5"/21.5"

Milk sure does a baby Good!
Zander currently likes to sleep, eat and swing. He has started "cooing" which is absolutely precious. Big sister Violet is doing well with having a brother. She likes to sing lullabies to him when he's upset and she happily brings me blankies or diapers. Were all getting a little more sleep now. Sometimes he sleeps for a 5 hour stretch.

Happy One Month Zander!

(5 weeks old in the pictures)

My Family of 4 and Surprises

The 4 of us in cartoon form by Jordyluxe.

My sister made that picture for me for Christmas. I'm still a little in awe that there are 4 of us now. Zander is now 5 weeks old. I'll post some new pictures of him soon. He's adorable!

Now that Christmas is over. My house is a big mess! News toys everywhere. My Violet has been in a toy daze since Christmas Eve. There's just too many new things to try out and play with! Mama got some new toys as well.

My mom got me a sewing machine. I'm so anxious to try it out! I'm a total beginner. I grew up with my mom making me and my sisters clothes. But I never cared to learn as a child. I also have a friend that sews well. I've made a few things like blankets, pillows and stockings with assistance. I have a lot to learn. Looks like fun to me! This is what I got.

My Husband got me some MAC makeup off my wish list. Will be posting some new looks soon with those! He also surprised me with a new watch. I love it.

And I can't forget this precious new gift! Little Zander.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Gift Ideas for the Home Cook

1. Fun measuring cups!
Found these little cuties on Amazon! 12.00

2. I'd love to have this cookbook.
Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. 26.00

3.Hand Soap and Lotion set.
Williams-Sonoma, 30.00

4. A cutesy apron!
Find them on Etsy.

5. Colorful Mixing Bowls by KitchenAid.
Got these in pastel shades from my wedding and use them all the time. 26.00

Christmas Goodies

I was in a jolly good mood yesterday and decided to make some Christmas Goodies!

Christmas Bark

-recipe from The Finer Things in Life. This is made with saltine crackers and taste delicious.

5 Minute Fudge
-recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. Simple & Quick!

Both of these recipes were so simple. I whipped them up in less than 30 minutes. Then you put them in the fridge to chill. That's a plus for all you busy mamas!

Christmas Pictures

We did a mini photo shoot in my Mom's living room last week. My sister Jordan took their pictures. Turned out pretty cute!

Zander is now 2 weeks and 2 days old. He is a little sweetie. So far he really enjoys eating and sleeping! Violet adores her brother and wants to help out every chance she gets. Yesterday we gave him his first bath. We had to stop Violet from dumping all her bath toys on top of him! She was just sooo excited. Last night she wanted to wake him up to give him another bath. We have to keep a good eye on her because if she had it her way she would carry him like a doll all over the house.

Today she was watching him sleep and she yelled, 'Mommy he smiled at me!" You know how newborns smile and giggle in their sleep. She was just beaming. I'm glad she likes being a big sister. The two of them look so precious together.

Where have I been?

Snuggling this precious face right here!

And here's some recent pictures of Zander. He's 11 days old.

Since coming home from the hospital my days (and nights) are spent breastfeeding every 2 hours, changing diapers, helping Violet to adjust to having a sibling and recovering from labor.

Today I woke up and felt better. I had some extra energy so I decorated our mantle for Christmas. I had been so focused on counting down the days until my due date that Christmas has been an after thought. I need to get busy wrapping gifts and such!

It's challenging to keep up with a blog with a newborn in the house. But I do miss attempting to look fabulous, taking pictures and reading all of your lovely blogs. Once the Holidays are over I think I will start doing some weight loss blogs. I should be able to start working out by then and I can't wait! I gained 43 pounds this pregnancy. I figured I would gain a lot since I gained 55 with my first baby. So far, I've already lost 22 pounds since having Zander last week. Who wants to be weight loss buddies?!

-Jill

Our Baby Boy is Here

Zander Paul arrived on 11/23/10 at 5:56pm. 7lbs,7oz and 19.5".

We are in LOVE and SO thankful for him!

Naughty Chicken and Rice

This is my kind of comfort food. I woke up this morning feeling a little crummy. Didn't sleep well last night, had braxton hicks from 3:30-5am! Tried to time them in case they were the real thing but fell asleep. Then at breakfast I started bawling my eyes out because my toaster strudel was still frozen in the center! My husband came to the rescue and remade it for me.

I will survive these last 2 weeks or less of being pregnant!
And I felt like I deserved some creamy and totally fattening rice for lunch.

Naughty Chicken & Rice
(I came up with this recipe after mixing up a few different versions I found online)
It's naughty because there is butter, cheese and sour cream in it!

1 cup of already cooked chicken (shredded, canned, I may have used baked nuggets. Don't judge! I'm 38 weeks pregnant and hungry.)

1 stick of melted butter

salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, any spice you want to use to season the chicken

1 cup of uncooked long grain white rice

28 ounces of chicken broth

1 can of cream of somethin' soup- I used cream of celery but you could use cream of chicken or mushroom.

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375. Layer the chicken into the bottom of a casserole dish. Season the chicken. Then pour on the melted butter.

2. Pour one cup of uncooked rice over the chicken/butter.

3. In a small bowl mix together the chicken broth, sour cream, cream soup. Then pour on top of the chicken and rice.

4. Now put in oven and bake for 1 hour. Take it out and sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 10 more minutes. Then it's done! The edges are my favorite part, they get all chewy and crispy from the cheese. Yum.

Grab some Hot Tea and a Good Book

There's nothing more relaxing on a cold day than some hot tea and a good book. What's your favorite hot tea? I really like Bigelow's Pomegranate Pizzazz right now. Here are some of my favorite books that I read over the past year and a link to some book reviews I did.

What kind of books do you like? I seem to always pick a book from the Young Adult section. Ever since I read the Twilight Saga I can't get enough of books with a similar feel. If you enjoyed Twilight you would probably like the House of Night series as well. I've read all 8 HON books and am waiting for the next one to come out. Also, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare are awesome books! My sister and I have really enjoyed them.

I also enjoy the very girly, Chick Lit books. Anything by Sophia Kinsella is going to be a fun read!

Hope you all enjoyed a little peek into my library! Oh and has anyone read Fire by Kristin Cashore? I loved Graceling so much but am not sure if I would like the direction the next book is going.

Falsies Mascara

Falsies Mascara by Maybelline

I'm wearing it in black. Or maybe it was dramatic black. I don't remember. But I always buy black mascara. Here's the results after curling lashes and 2 coats of mascara.

I liked it okay. It's got a delicate brush on it and it gets soaked with the formula. Be prepared to dab some off the wand. The brush has a slight curve to it. My lashes do not look anything like the Maybelline model's. Hers are most definitely Falsies! Anyway, I like it enough to finish the tube. It'll do for now.

On a side note. Look how long my hair is getting! It's only been a month since I got it trimmed. My hair and nails grow like crazy when I'm pregnant. That and the prenatal vitamins I take daily.

- Jill
ps. 37 weeks pregnant! I'm getting a lot of braxton hicks but they are random and I'm 3cm. Every night I go to bed wondering if this will be THE NIGHT I meet my little boy!

36 Weeks and some Pictures

Nope, no baby yet! I certainly have gotten behind on my blogging. Here's a pregnancy update. (and YES, that's my big belly up there!) Last week I was 1cm dilated and 75% effaced at my 35 week appt. I have my 36 week visit tomorrow. Were so close to meeting our little boy! I've washed and organized all his baby stuff. As for how I'm feeling, my body is so tired. My feet are so swollen and I have "sausage toes". When I'm out running errands people keep asking if I'm due this month. I sure wouldn't mind having a November baby! I'll be full term next week.

I made a collage of some of my Baby Shower pics. Friends, Food and Family always equals fun!

Baby Shower by thelilmermaid24

(CLICK to Enlarge)

Princess Violet

Little Miss decided to be Cinderella this year. Well, she also wanted to be Snow White and Jessie the Cowgirl. It's so hard to make a decision when your 3!

Hope you all have a safe Halloween Trick or Treating or going to Fall Fest.

Here's a link to our recent Halloween post. This is Violet's 4th year to dress up!

Face of the Day and 34 Weeks Update

FOTD- This is how I did my makeup for my Baby Shower. (I'll share pics soon) I used MAC Shell to highlight my brow bone, cheeks and Cupid's bow. I used a brown, ivory and bronze from my FLIRT eyeshadow palette. Then ELF liquid liner. I contoured my cheeks with MAC Sincere, blush is MAC Tenderling and I layered Cargo Sunset Beach bronzer on top of my cheekbones. I'm liking the Cargo bronzer on top of almost all my blushes lately. Then I dabbed on Wicked Ways lipglass on my lips. I debated doing false lashes but my laziness won over!

34 Weeks Pregnant

1. I'm significantly bigger than I was 8 months ago.
2. At 32 weeks, I had a sonogram done and my baby weighed in at 4 pounds, 7 ounces. So, he's gotta be around 5 now and I'm feeling it!
3. It's very hard to get up from the floor or get out of bed or my car.
4. I love feeling my baby boy move. Even when he gets the hiccups.
5. My 3 year old tells people that her baby is growing into a giant that will break our house down! I must look gigantic to her.