Just hangin at the house

Jack's spot

No...this is not a blanket for Jack...it's supposed to be Harper's tummy-time blanket but Jack has taken it over for his own, little stinker!

Green Rice

So I was watching the Food Network today and kinda stole a recipe I saw on this show, I took the idea of it and put my own little spin on it...and I think it turned out really good. We even roasted poblano peppers on the stove top for the first time, fun!

Green Rice
1 cup Basamati rice (cook according to box directions)
2 roasted poblano peppers (roasted in oven or over a flame on the stove top)
roasted corn (we roasted 2 cobs on the grill)
light sour cream (to taste- depends on how creamy you want it)
monterey jack cheese (to taste)

Cook rice. After roasting the peppers put in a plastic bag or put the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (this creates moisture and helps the charred skin get loose so you can take it off). Remove skin and chop peppers, toss in with rice. Grill corn and take kernels off cobs, toss with rice mixture. Add sour cream and cheese to taste. Stir mixture and put in the microwave to heat everything up and melt cheese. Takes about 3 minutes or so. Enjoy!

First time in my Bumbo...is it just me or does she look a lot like her Daddy? (it must be the facial expressions)

I love the singing sun in my car seat!

Sleeping Baby

So today was Chris and my Anniversary~ 3 years and going strong! So I decided it would be fun to make something different for dinner to celebrate...so I made homemade gnocchi!! I didn't know if it would all come together or not, I just knew the recipe looked easy so I figured I would give it a try! I made butternut squash gnocchi with a butter and Parmesan sauce and it turned out fabulous! On the side we had broccolini with toasted almonds, a splash of lemon and olive oil. We also had a good french bread.
We get to go out to dinner to celebrate some more on Saturday, our friend graciously volunteered to babysit for us...so we are going to get our indian food on! :)
Happy Anniversary my love, I couldn't imagine my life without you!

This is what happens when I don't take 2 naps in a row!

First Attempt with the Exersaucer

Checking things out...

5 seconds later....

Harper's First Swimsuit! (and summer hat)

I picked up a suit for Harper this week...it was important to me to find a swimsuit that would cover her as much as possible from the harsh Texas sun! This swimsuit in particular will be her lake suit :) It has built in SPF and the bottoms have a built in diaper too. I will be on the lookout for another swimsuit for her to wear in the backyard when she is playing in the blowup pool we have yet to purchase. Getting ready for summer!!!!

Easy, Healthy & Yummy!

So I have been watching all the chefs on Food Network use fennel in their recipes but I had yet to try it myself...so corn salad with fennel was my first attempt and I loved it! It has the most unique taste, you gotta try it! I paired it with pan seared cod with a cilantro pesto, a perfect spring-time meal!

CORN SALAD
Ingredients
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 fennel bulb, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup canola oil
Directions
In a large serving bowl, toss together the corn, apples, fennel, and onion. (Reserve 1 cup of the mixture for the Corn Puddings recipe.) Add the parsley and cumin and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and oil. (Reserve 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette for the Round 2 Salad recipe.) Add the dressing to the vegetables and toss well to coat.

Breast Cancer, Paddling & a Whale

I love this story!

http://www.ocregister.com/video/?videoId=74401104001&play=now

I found my mouth!

I started to grab things today and put them in my mouth, look!

The Office

Oh my goodness...I can't believe it has taken me so long to appreciate how funny The Office is, I started watching re-runs on TBS and I can't get enough of it! I was enjoying the re-runs so much I decided to start watching it on Thursday night. I just love Steve Carell, he is a random guy but that is what makes him so darn funny! Anyone else out there an Office fan like me?!?!?!

Happy Easter!!!

The Lucas family had a nice quiet Easter at home today...Mommy had fun taking cute Easter pics of Harper and we had ham, twice baked potatoes and roasted asparagus for dinner, yum! We have also been enjoying taking nightly walks after dinner...I strap Harper into the baby carrier and Chris is in charge of Jack and we walk around the neighborhood, the weather is just perfect right now for walks, I love it!

Here are some Easter pics of Harper:

This & That

Feels like my days have been going by SO fast lately! I try to only do one thing out of the house per day otherwise it's hard to keep Harper on a schedule, so far so good. By the end of last week though I was incredibly tired (I think it was one early morning and one late night in a row that put me over the edge after a long week)...I was in bed by 8pm on Sunday night so I could get at leas 6 hours or sleep before feeding Harper in the middle of the night...I needed that sleep to start my week off as rested.

So I used to be able to put Harper down for 1 1/2 naps during the day, not so much anymore, she has been topping out at 1 hour, doesn't leave mommy much time to do anything while she is asleep...I need to work on getting her down for longer periods of time, now how do I do that?!?!

Harper has officially found her hands and is investigating them all of the time...she will just stare at them or put them both in her mouth! She is changing and growing up a little every day!

Next week Harper and I are going to try out a playgroup that is for 1 yr olds and under...I am looking forward to hopefully finding a group of cool mommies with kiddos close to Harper's age!