mariasimoneidejhs: 2014

Friday, March 28, 2014

Dear Judah: Week 2

Dear Judah,

Has it already been another week already?! You are laying here beside me on the rug in your room. You and I are having a few minutes of quiet time together. You are alert and looking towards your abacus even though it's too far away for you to focus on. You have the hiccups. You have those a lot these days and you had them a lot when I was pregnant with you too. And you are waving your little quivering fists around and making little baby sounds every now and then. It's precious and I love this time with you, especially these quiet moments where I get to soak you all in. I could stare at you all day.

You've been having a growth spurt these past few days and everyone can really tell. Me, Daddy and Grammy have all commented on how much bigger you look in just the past 48 hours even. I can tell too because you've been wanting to nurse almost constantly, sometimes every hour! It's tiring but it's my job to feed you 24/7 and it's your job to grow so that's what we are doing together this week. You are totally worth it. You are my most important job these days.

Our growth spurt was actually confirmed at the doctor's office today when they weighed you and you weighed a whopping 9lbs 3 oz! They said you were looking great! You are peeling like a little lizard this week too. Before you were born your body created a little barrier on your skin protecting you from the water you were floating in and now you're shedding it. It's kinda cute.

We've done some tummy time this week which you don't seem to mind but only if Ariana is there to entertain you. She loves cheering you on. You impressed us with pushing your head and upper body up at only 10 days old. You are getting so much stronger. When we burp you, propped up on our shoulder, you push yourself up to look around. Even your legs are getting stronger and push up on us when we hold you. You still do that sweet newborn thing though and curl your legs up when we pick you up. I love it every time you do that, it makes you seem extra cuddly, which you are!

I think you are most happy with a milk beard. Not a milk mustache, but a full on milk dribbling down your chin, all over your cheeks, milk beard. And you look up at me in your milk coma and you just look so content. I'm addicted to you! I'm addicted to your little toes and your little nose. Your pretty baby blue eyes and your peely little soft baby knees. I love the way you hold my hand and stare out the window when we all ride together and I ride in the backseat between you and your sister. I'm addicted to your soft fuzzy head of hair and your little dimple on your cheek. It's like a sweet little secret that you've shared with me. Those tiny little lips that turn up in the corners, and that you poke out into a little pout in your sleep. I'm addicted to your sweet baby smell. I'm addicted to all of you. Addicted I tell you!

We discovered that you don't really seem to like to be swaddled anymore. A few days ago we noticed that when we would start to swaddle you (at bedtime), you would cry and fight us. We've stopped swaddling you at bedtime and you seem happier. We only use the sleep sack now. You've been waking us up every 2-3 hours at night. You're on a pretty good schedule.

Most of the time you are calm but you can go from 0-100 in 2 seconds and you can be very loud too! You definitely know how to make your voice heard. I may be biased but it's a pretty darn cute cry though.

I just know you are smart already. There are times when you cry during a diaper change and when we are finishing up we tell you "all done" and I just know you are learning that those words mean we are about to pick you up and you calm down. Yes, sweet Judah, you are a smart one. I can't wait to see your personality emerge and watch you learn and grow.

I can't wait to see your sister teach you all the things that she knows. She's a great teacher and she loves sharing her knowledge. You are going to be her little student and I bet you'll look up to her and want to follow in her footsteps and do what she does. Seeing the two of you together is so sweet, it makes my heart burst with pride and happiness. I find myself smiling, and getting choked up just looking at the two of you together. I'm so in love with both of you!

This week you've been to Ariana's kindergarten, the commissary, the BX, the doctor, the Gartenshau, and your first German festival (Hitscherhof Farm festival aka the pumpkin festival). You slept through them all but we were happy to have you there. To be a family of 4. To be doing things as a family of 4. We love having you in our family and we just know that you love being in our family too.

We are all so thankful for you sweet boy! I'm blessed to be your Mama. You amaze me each and every day. Keep growing!

Love,

Mommy

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Egg Nog Cake {Recipe}

I thought it was about time I posted a Christmas recipe. I know a few people that really want this recipe! This blog post is especially for you!

This is Egg Nog cake from our old family friend, Lori. She gave us this recipe 6 years ago, when we first got married and I was putting together a "Friends and Family" cookbook with everyone favorite recipes.

Egg Nog Cake Recipe:

Cake:

1 package yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1 carton heavy whipping cream (1/2 pint)

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup Rum

1 Tsp. Nutmeg

Glaze:

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup butter

2 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. Rum

1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg

1. Mix together cake mix, eggs, whipping cream, oil, Rum and Nutmeg. Beat for 2 minutes.

2. Pour into tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

3. Meanwhile, mix sugar, butter, water, Rum and Nutmeg for glaze.

4. When cake comes out of the oven, pour half the glaze around edge of cake while still in pan.

5. Cool for about 5 mins.

6. Take cake out of pan and pour remaining glaze on cake.

It's so yummy and perfect for the holidays!

If anyone has some favorite holiday recipes they want to share, feel free to email me at AFCat84@aol.com and we can do a swap!!

xo's

Cat

Monday, March 24, 2014

Textured Buildings

Today, I'm focusing on textures. I've been noticing a lot of little things lately.

(I love everything going on in this picture)

(stucco maybe)

(peeling paint and rusting metal)

(peeling paint on wood)

(clay)

(glass)

I took these photos from my village of Steinbach and also the village of Schonenberg Kubelberg here in Germany. I love all the textures these villages have. I saved my doors and windows shots for another day and also I have some pretty awesome shots of my favorite house there. I added a little sneak peek in this post. It's the second photo from the bottom with the red and green, but I'm saving the best for later this week.

All of these were taken with my 50mm.

I'm linking up with Macro Monday

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Return of the Macro!

I got my macro back the Monday before I flew to Florida on that Thursday. If you read this post you already know the horrible sad story of my broken marco and how happy I am to get it back in time for my trip. Here are some of my first shots from my newly repaired lens in Florida.

I loved finding these little lizards. I believe they are a brown anole also called the tree anole but I'm not a biologist so I'm not certain. It may take some more research. But they were cute lizards with a white stripe up their back and yellow around their eyes. They were all over the plants outside my mom's porch.

And then I found this white caterpillar with black spikes which I'm pretty certain is a Heliconius charithonia and grows to be a Zebra Longtail butterfly which is the official butterfly of Florida! Awesome!

This is my photo of the Zebra Longtail from our trip to Flamingo Gardens in Florida last year.

I'm VERY happy to have my macro back on my camera, especially now that we're in Florida and I can capture those little lizards up close!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Story of How I Burned My Arm + A WARNING!

WARNING: Cleaning with vinegar could be dangerous. I learned this the hard way.

This is the story of how I burned my arm cleaning with vinegar.

Not long ago I decided to clean my microwave. The usual way I do this is to take my 2 cup glass measuring cup and put some water in it, nuk it for a little while, and let the steam loosen the gunk. Then I wipe it clean, done. I had heard that adding vinegar to the water would help get rid of any odors so I thought, why not, I'll give it a try. Bad idea.

Like usual, I put some water in my measuring cup, then I added in a little vinegar and started microwaving it. (I think I set it to 2 minutes maybe). After the timer went off I opened the door and took the water out. Just as I got out it popped (like exploded is more like it) and splashed the scalding water/vinegar all over my arm (and even on my face). It was lucky that Ariana wasn't right there because I screamed and threw the measuring cup down.

It started burning so I ran it under some water. I started turning a bright red and you could see where the splash landed. It wasn't pretty. I had planned to go out with some girlfriends that night for a dinner and a movie for a rare girls night out. But since I burned my arm less than 2 hours before I was suppose to meet them, I had to cancel and stay in. I put aloe gel on it and wrapped it up. Took some pain relievers and had a glass of wine and the pain subsided.

I have never heard of vinegar and water causing a weird reaction like this when microwaved. In fact I had read here, here, here, here, and here (to name a few) that it was a good cleaning method. None of them had a caution warning. I don't know if this has happened to anybody else or not, but it happened to me so I'm sharing this story.

Please be careful. Please share this information with others.

The photo above was taken 4 hours after it happened. Luckily for me my arm has healed pretty well. My skin was red for a while and then a month later it finally peeled and healed completely and you can barely see where it was now.

P64: Tan

When I was about 12 my Girl Scout troop when horseback riding and I fell in love with horses for the first time. I took on again off again lessons on Casper, Mocha, and others, and went riding with a family friend on a sweet dapple girl named Leia.

Have I ever owned a horse? No. Do I still dream of owning a horse? Yes.

Yes, I still would love to own a horse. Kind of a crazy dream for a girl married to the military moving every few years and living in different countries. I can't imagine the cost to ship a horse back to the states. Maybe one day though. The truth is, I don't know how to take care of a horse. I know general care but not the real ins and outs of life with a horse. And I don't have anywhere to keep it. Plus, horses are expensive. I get all of that. That is why I don't have one. I can still dream though.

We saw some pretty tan colored horses on our walk in Bavaria. I'm linking up my first picture to Project 64. The color reflecting off his coat is just perfect for the color match. I added the other photos just because I love them, with the light on his mane and rimming the whiskers around his nose.

Such a pretty sight with the mountains behind them. What a view!

Find other tan photos in the linkup here:

Monday, March 17, 2014

Beach Painting

Ariana and I are finally starting to feel settled in at my Momma's house, and I've had some time to get artsy!!

My mom has pretty much given me her entire dining room to set up my temporary art studio. I have my Etsy stuff in one corner and my paints and supplies in another. I have so many family and friends here that I stay pretty busy. On top of being a full time mom (my absolute favorite job in the world!) of course which constantly keeps me busy! I've had a few nap times free to squeeze in a little "me time" though.

Here is one of my new paintings. It was inspired by the beaches in England. Watching the water wash up on the pebbles was so pretty.

It measures 16x20 on a gallery wrapped canvas. It would be a beautiful piece to have in a beach house or seaside themed room. I haven't decided whether or not I'm selling it yet, if I do, I'll let you know when I post it in my shop. I'm really proud of this one because I'm still learning my way around a canvas and this one turned out EXACTLY how I wanted it too!!

I've also been working on a NEW painting series as I mentioned before which will be released on August 1st!!!!

My birthday is almost here! I'm a Leo (rawrs in her head hehe!) born August 5th. I'm excited to spend it with my family and friends and we have some fun things planned already!

xo's

Cat

P64: Sky Blue

Sky Blue

Linking up with Project 64.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta with Chicken {Recipe}

This is a yummy recipe me and my man created, and perfected after a few different tries. Looks kind of fancy but doesn't take much time or effort. Perfect for summer time and I'm thinking using small pasta like rotini and mixing in the tomato and chopped chicken would make a nice cold pasta to take to a potluck or BBQ for the summer.

Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta with Chicken

Juice from 1 1/2 lemons

1/2 cup pine nuts

4 garlic cloves

10 tbsp olive oil (separated)

1 cup basil leaves

3 avocados

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

16 oz fettuccine (or pasta of your choice)

1 large tomato chopped

cooked chicken

Cook your pasta as directed.

Meanwhile in a food processor, mix together the garlic cloves, 1/2 cup pine nuts, 5 tablespoons of the olive oil. Once blended add in the basil and blend again. Next add in the avocados, 1 at a time, blending in between and adding the other 5 tablespoons of olive oil while mixing. Lastly season with salt and pepper.

Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Once pasta is drip dried, toss with sauce and refrigerate for about 20 mins to help flavors mingle and to chill the pasta a little.

Slice the cooked chicken (or buy it pre sliced and pre cooked like I did for a quick dinner) and chop your tomato. Plate your pasta and top with the chicken and tomatoes. Garnish with fresh pepper and lemon zest if desired.

This makes enough for 4-6 people depending on how hungry you are.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Brownies in a Mug {Microwave Recipe}

Brownies in a Mug

In a microwave safe mug mix together:

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

dash of salt

Stir in:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon water

splash of vanilla (optional)

Sprinkle top with chocolate chips, marshmallows, peanut butter chips, nuts etc.

Microwave for 1 minute (time may vary slightly)

Let it cool for a few minutes and ENJOY!

For a bigger dessert just double the recipe (pictures show double)

These microwave brownies are dangerously easy and very yummy! I sent a big box of mugs and the ingredients to make these to Rich's squadron. I'm hoping they can have a brownie night at work. I know they'll love this since they are stuck eating chow hall food and better than getting stale/crushed cookies in the mail. It's the second best to actual made with love brownies for these guys and gals.

Perfect for a quick fall dessert for one (or two) or even would be a nice after school snack for teens.

found here

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Disneyland Paris: Ariana's 4th Birthday Trip!

In November 2012 (during a particularly rough time for us as a family) we took a magical trip to Disneyland Paris for 4 nights. We all know Disneyland Paris isn't going to compare to Disney World in Orlando, Florida (what I grew up with) but it captures just as much magic.

We had been debating on whether or not we wanted to spend the time/money to go to Disney Paris since we had heard it "wasn't worth it. But went anyways and we all came away refreshed, more full of wonder, happier and more bonded together as a family. Maybe it had something to do with being in a fantasy land full of smiling cheerful characters for a few days and forgetting about the troubles of "real life" that helped, but we really enjoyed it.

And it came at the perfect time. Not only a rough time personal time for us, but Ariana's 4th birthday! It was important and special for us to just spend an entire vacation just focused on Ariana and having kid friendly fun.

We drove the 4.5 hours from our home in Germany to the Disneyland Paris Resorts in France. We stayed in Disneyland Paris Sequoia Lodge. We had a spacious room with 2 large beds decorated in a woodland Bambi theme. They had 2 restaurants in the hotel, but with both of them it was recommended that you make a time slot reservation to save yourself from waiting. There were several characters that made apparences throughout the day to the hotel. We saw Goofy, Pluto and Mickey on the days we were there. There was usually only a handful of kids waiting to see the characters and it was a lot less hectic than seeing them in the park itself. You could also pose for pictures but take your own because the professional photos cost 15 Euro each!

The first day we went and enjoyed spending the day playing in Disneyland Park that includes, Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Discoveryland, and Adventureland.

We met Minnie Mouse as soon as we walked in the gates and she was all dressed in a fancy Halloween costume. Since it was only a few days after Halloween the whole park was still decorated with big pumpkins and ghosts and other spooky things. While we were there some of the decorations changed overnight to Christmas. Of course we all joined in the fun and got Minnie and Mickey ear headbands. Why not, right?

Ariana loved riding all the rides in Fantasyland. The Mad Hatter Tea Cups, Dumbo, and Snow White were some of her favorites.

After some snacks of yummy warm waffles (because it was November and it was cold) we explored under the castle and found a chained dragon who breathed smoke. We visited him many times throughout our stay and he always fascinated Ariana.

There were a few characters in the Disneyland Park but we somehow kept missing a lot of them. We did see Alice and the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. The Queen of Hearts was the best character. She was making everyone bow and kiss her ring before she would pose for pictures.

Of course we had to see the parade that went down the main street of the park.

Adventureland and Discoveryland were fun too! She loved the Buzz Lightyear ride the best in those parts of the park. She met Captain Jack Sparrow but she wasn't so sure about him.

We met Mickey in the "Meet Mickey Pavillion" and then we stayed until dusk and then caught the shuttle back to our hotel for the night. It was a busy and fun filled first day.

The second day we went to Walt Disney Studios. We saw an incredible amount of characters there walking around and stopping for autographs and photos including Chip and Dale, Donald and Daisy, Eeyore and Rabbit (from Chistopher Robbin), Ariel, Rattitioule, Jasmine and Alladin,

Meeting Ariel made her day and even though she had a British accent Ariana didn't seem to mind much.

We went to see a couple of shows including Stitch Live which was fun and interactive with real time animation with Stitch on screen. We also saw Playhouse Disney Live (Handy Mandy, Little Einsteins, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse come alive on stage), and Animagique. Ariana picked out a plush Stitch doll at one of the gift shops.

We also saw the parade there which had different characters and lots of villains too!

There wasn't as many rides (for her age) in Walt Disney Studios but she loved the Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin which was kind of a little roller coaster and she was even brave enough to ride the parachute drop ride.

On her birthday morning we woke up and opened presents in the room first thing. She got a new toy kitty, a Merida (Brave) dress, a jewelry box and some other goodies. We let her wear her Merida dress over her regular clothes for the day. She was truly a little princess! Then it was off to explore Disneyland Park again and ride some of our favorite rides and see anything we missed the first day.

For a special birthday lunch we went to Auberge de Cendrillon to dine with Cinderella's mice friends and some of the princesses. Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip entertained us with a ballroom dance and we got to have special one on one time with each princess when they came around to our table.

Snow White is her official favorite princess, Ariana even had her toenails painted ruby red "just like Snow White's lipstick". But, she loved meeting and chatting with Cinderella. The first things she asked her was "Can I see your glass slippers?" Cinderella explained that she kept her glass slippers in a special wooden box in her castle since they were so special to her.

At the end of lunch they brought out a special chocolate cake alight with candles and sang Happy Birthday to her. It was a magical birthday!

After her birthday lunch the sun came out and warmed us all up a little bit. We took the opportunity to have a little photo shoot by the castle. Ariana danced and twirled and then smiled her best 4 year old smile.

It's hard to believe it's already been 4 years since we first were blessed with this sweet little girl. We are so lucky to be her parents!

For anyone who is questioning whether or not to make a trip to Disneyland Paris, I say, GO FOR IT!! To our family it was well worth it and we came away with lots of awesome memories. Four years old was a pretty perfect age to enjoy the magic that the park has to offer. We are even debating going back again before we leave Europe next year, but we'll see.

To see more of our trip, you can watch our Disneyland Paris Video here. Simple but it captured some of the magic.

Totally perfect family vacation in Europe!

mariasimoneidejhs