Tackling those pins

Recently, I joined Pinterest and it has become a bit of an obsession for me. Currently, I have around 35 recipes pinned that I want to try and have tried none of them. So, Let's change that! I am going to try and make every one of these recipes eventually. Here is my list of recipes that I have pinned. I will post every time I try one of the recipes with a review, pictures, and an updated list!

1. Jalapeno poppers with bacon and cream cheese in a crescent roll
2. Healthy Baked French Fries
3. Tie Dye cake
4. Buffalo chicken rolls
5. Vanilla bean cheesecake with chocolate crust and salted caramel topping (OH, YUM)
6. Make ahead breakfast burritos
7. Loaded potato and buffalo chicken casserole
8. Garlic Parmesan pull apart bread
9. Crock-pot apple sauce
10. Homemade pizza pockets
11. baked mozzarella sticks
12. Shrimp, pesto, and goat cheese pizza
13. Frosted soft sugar cookies
14. Soft pretzel bites
15. Buffalo chicken pasta salad
16. Baked apples with oatmeal streusel topping
17. Baked breaded mushroom caps
18. crescent rolls with spinach and feta
19. zucchini fritters
20. S'more filled chocolate chip cookie
21. crockpot mac and cheese
22. baked pumpkin spice donuts
23. cookies and cream filled chocolate cake
24. bacon wrapped smokies
25. Baked lemon butter shrimp
26. mac and cheese casserole
27. Chocolate chip oreo brownie cookie bar
28. loaded potato rounds
29. snowmen cupcakes
30. nutella cookies
31. Warm roasted potato salad
32. mango lemonade
33. waffle iron hashbrowns
34. iced coffee concentrate
35. baked strawberry donuts
36. baked donuts
37. pretzel chocolate chip cookies
38. stuffed pizza
39. mini meatloafs
40. pineapple banana pops
41. wonton tacos
42. cinnamon chile roasted sweet potatoes
43. shrimp and bell pepper quesadillas 

BEST Chocolate muffins ever!

Last summer, I was craving some chocolate cream cheese muffins and could not find a recipe that looked like what I wanted! Finally, I came across this lovely recipe. It is so good! I didn't put the chocolate chips in the cream cheese but I bet that would be delicious, too!
NOTE: When I made these muffins, it only made 12. not 20 like the recipe says.

The Cooking Blog: Cream Cheese Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Summer time! List of projects I must finish!

Last day of school today! (yessssssssss....) so now, here are some projects that I would like to finish over the summer.

1. Quilt for Nola's baby
2. Pennant banner for Sofi's birthday party
3. Romper/ dress/ or skirt for Sofi
4. Small fabric/thread waste basket
5. More clothes for sofi (specifics to come!)

Also, I have recently discovered pinterest and it is great! I love finding new ideas on there and saving things that I have found on other sites!

Must-haves for news moms

Having an eight month old daughter, I have become very familiar with baby products over the past year and a half. Here's a list I composed of some of the best and most useful baby products I've come across.

1. Bumbo infant seat.
My daughter started using this when she was about 4 months old and starting to sit up with support. The chair provides full support for your baby's back so as long as they can support their head and neck on their own, this is a great way for them to practice sitting up and to feel like they are grown-up! And I know that there has been some controversy on the safety of these seats but if you WATCH your baby (like you're supposed to unless they are safely contained in a crib or playpen) then nothing bad will happen. Don't put it on raised surfaces, don't leave them alone, take them out when they get fussy, be a parent and it is fine to use this chair.

2. Boppy nursing pillow.
Not just for nursing! My daughter napped on this, practiced sitting up in it, and had tummy time in it. Not to mention, it is a GREAT nursing pillow! There are all different sorts of covers available for these and we have used ours countless times.

3. Graco infant travel system.
 We have been using this travel system since Sofi was born. It comes with a stroller, car seat, and car seat base. The car seat easily fits into the stroller when the baby is newborn so that your baby faces you and can be comfortably reclined. Sofi just recently out-grew the car seat but the stroller is going to last a really long time! Oh, also the straps in the stroller separate so, if your baby falls asleep on your walk you don't have to bother them slipping their arms through the straps. You just unbuckle and grab them out of there!

4. Halo Sleep Sack
Sofi loved this as a newborn! She wasn't so much a fan of the swaddles but the sleep sack provided the snuggness of a swaddle while allowing her to wiggle around inside of it. And her arms were free, which she really enjoyed. The only thing is, you can't use them in strollers. But we never had much of a problem with that.

5. Raz-berry infant teeth
Sofi is a pacifier using baby so this teether is really great for her. It is shaped like a pacifier but has teething bumps on it and is more durable to stand up to chewing. You can also stick it in the fridge or freezer to  make it cold to help soothe the baby's gums. The sides and handle of this teether are also chewable and she plays with it and chews it. It is really nice to have a hands-free teether so that she can still play with other toys while soothing her gums. I read some reviews on-line of parents with babies who did not use pacifiers but their babies still loved these!

I will post some more products later because trust me, I have more!

Sofi's Photo Shoot

Sofi had a small photo shoot with me the other day. Just for practice with lighting and everything. I wish I had a nice, smooth backdrop but oh well. Here are my favorites.

I threw in the last one because her face is so silly!

New Camera!

Last week, I got my Olympus SZ-12 in the mail! It's fantastic! So much better than my 8 year old Kodak easy share!
Here are some of my favorite photographs so far.

Tied Baby Quilt

Finished this quilt last Friday for Sofi! I used three fat quarters and a partial fat quarter.

 

Here's the backing. I used this cute elephant flannel that I picked up at the fabric store!

Sofi loves it!