{Oh hey there}

It's been a bit too long since my last 'update'... but let me explain. 

I'm pregnant with Baby #2... so therefore the last few months I have been in survival mode. Until a few days ago I was lucky to get off the couch and lucky not to throw up at least once a day. 

I am about 15 weeks along and yes -- I will post a picture soon. 

My little ones will be 16 months apart! 16 months! 

At first I was feeling super overwhelmed... but now I'm pretty excited. I'm hoping Kenzie gets a little sister :) And from an early ultrasound we were told baby was looking like a girl! 

More to come... 

{Kenzie: 7 months}

+ She learned how to crawl around 6 months & 2 weeks... she is EVERYWHERE
+ Started to really like sweet potatoes. She is trying other foods..peaches..applesauce but still prefers sweet potatoes
+ Kenzie still likes to wake up every 4-5 hours at night... not fun.
+ She loves silky blankets
+ She is trying to wave
+ Kenzie is OBSESSED with the vacuum
+ She hates snuggling.. it makes me kinda sad but she only takes good naps in her carseat and in her crib

Kenzie is such a happy baby and always smiling. Happy 7 months baby girl!

{What I wore: Mommy Style}

In the past week or so I have done 2 things that have helped me a lot.

1) I chopped my hair. SO much easier for me to take care of.
2) Invested in eyelash extensions..best decision ever. The illusion of make-up with NO effort.
Seriously, if you are in the Fresno or Sacramento area let me know! I will hook you up with Christina.

I still have the postpartum body..
but I haven't done anything to improve it..
so I guess I should stop complaining.

Outfit #1 - Running Errands

Shirt - Ross {$6.99}

Jeans - Old Navy {on sale $10}

Sandals - Goodwill {$4} 

Scarf - .99 cent city :) {$1}

Total for the outfit: $21.99
I think was the first time I wore skinnies without boots... can I pull it off?

Outfit #2 

Shirt - The Limited via Goodwill - $2 

Skirt - New York & Co via Goodwill - $2

Necklace - A booth at a local carnival - $3 (I think)

Total for the outfit: $7

I really liked this outfit at the time.. but realize from the pictures I need a body shaper haha. 

I have really enjoyed thrifting and going to garage sale hunts lately. 

I can get gently loved name brand items for next to nothing. I'm sure Jason appreciates it too.

I'm linking up here and here.

{Easter 2012}

Kenzie made out like a bandit. You can't see her blinged out Easter tote but it is CUTE. 

She totally looks like her Dad! 

We had a really low key Easter Sunday. We went to church and then came home to make our feast. 

We made ham, potatoes au gratin & corn. It was delicious. 

It was a perfect day... just the three of us. 

PS: Jason only has 3 more weeks of school!! I am so excited and proud. 

{We bought a house}

We bought our first home at the end of March! We are thrilled. 

It's a 3 bedroom 2 bath with an open floor plan. 

We are so happy to have a place to call our own. 

More pictures to come. 

{Kenzie: 6 months old}

      {This was Kenzie's 2nd time on grass.. as you can see..not really sure about it }

Nicknames: Kenz, Boogie, K, Z
Weight: 20lbs 2oz - 97.7%
Height: 2"4'  - 98.42%
Her pediatrician said she was the size of the one year old she had seen earlier in the day. We love our tall squishy girl.. but it's not so fun to be carrying her around!

Kenzie can sit up by herself... but if she falls over.. she's down.
Rolling over is old news for her... she flips back and forth constantly.
She is our smiley baby. Really.. she's happy most of the time.
She loves to eat (errr..drink milk) and slobber on everything - I'm sure this is fairly typical.
K still takes about 3 naps a day... nothing consistent though.
She is NOT sleeping through the night.. she goes down at about 9pm and wakes up at least once before what I would consider morning.
She pretty much skipped 9 month clothing and is sportin' 12 month gear... I still try to squeeze her in some 6 month and 9 month outfits!
She still only likes her milk.. we have tried a lot of different foods with her.. but she doesn't like it.
She is MOVING... not exactly crawling but I put her down in once place... and come back and she's on the other side of the room.
We have discovered that Kenzie is pretty social.. she loves people. We went to see the easter bunny and she was so excited... I hear this is when they start to develop 'stranger danger' but I have yet to see it.

I tell Jason that I wish we could just pause her at 6 months because I really just LOVE this age.

{Kenzie: 5 months old}

5 months and growing. {Yes... I know this is WAY late}
Wearing mostly 6-9 month with some 12 months pants!
She is rolling over like a crazy girl.
Loves to bounce in her bouncer.
Still loves her bath time.
I've given up on sleeping through the night.. it's super hit & miss.
BUT she does like to sleep in... when she does.
She hates anything but milk! We've tried cereal and sweet potatoes but no luck.

{Tasty Tuesday:Chicken Puffs}

Best things ever.


Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts
- 3-5 Chopped onion
- TBSP minced garlic
- 6 oz cream cheese
- 1 c butter
- Panko bread crumbs
- 1 package pillsbury crescents


Boil chicken with chopped onion & minced garlic.
Shred chicken and mix with the cream cheese & 3/4 c butter
Mix well
Open crescent rolls and add a large dollop in the middle of each & fold and place on baking sheet
Roll into remaining butter and add panko crumbs.
Bake @ 375F for 10-12mins
Serve over rice AND make this sauce..so bad but so good.
I kinda eye ball it.. I mix some cream of chicken soup with sour cream.


Thank you Marti & Sheila for the recipe! Love it...

{4 months}

I'm way late.. she's actually closer to 5 months now but hey.. I'm trying.

She rolled over for the first time on her 4 month birthday.
She screams & tries to talk - it's hilarious.
She DROOLS & eats ALL the time.
K wears 6-9 month clothes.
She can grab things really well & loves being outside.
Kenzie sleeps through the night when she feels like it.. meaning she doesn't 95% of the time.
For her 4 month check-up she weighed in at 17lbs & was 26 inches long.
Both of these were in the high 90s percentile wise.
She still loves baths.
Her first rice cereal was a nightmare.. she hates it.

Our boogie is getting to such a fun age. I can only imagine it gets better until.. the terrible 2's.

Mystery Solved

At 5am Jason & I both woke-up to Tucker barking. He usually does not make a peep all night so I sent Jason to investigate. I also heard some sort of noise outside but couldn't figure out what it was. Jason came back and said that it was a car parked in the driveway with lights on and horn honking constantly (not like an alarm). Did I mention it was raining outside?

Murder... definitely, a murder.. was what came to my mind. AND the murderer was probably hiding in our backyard hence why Tucker was barking. We decided to call the police but apparently a call had already been placed and they were on their way.

As we sat in bed... unable to go to sleep we went over different scenarios.. You already know what I thought. Then Jason couldn't help but think maybe it was an elderly person who needs help. NO NO NO.. it was a crime scene someone was dead..murdered.. it was probably a lifeless body who's head was pressed against the steering wheel. I was convinced.

Against my advice, Jason decided to walk down the street to see what it was... I stood on the porch waiting.. waiting for him to come screaming back to the house. I thought I was going to have to call the police if Jason was attacked. I even suggested he take a knife with him (yeah, I know.. I'm paranoid). But then again I had already convinced myself that the murdered by lurking in our backyard. I saw him walk up to the car... then walk away and get on his phone.

I KNEW IT! Dead body. But alas, it was not... I saw a cop car pull up and shine his lights on the vehicle. Then the garage door opened and a man walked out. Then I saw my hubby walking back down the street to our house.

The murder victim was actually an old man who claimed someone had a gun and was going to shoot him.  He wanted to get someones attention so he thought it would be a good idea to lock himself in the car and lay on the horn. I feel bad.. Jason thinks he may of had dementia or maybe he was afraid of his son.

I guess we will never know... but it made for a good story. AND apparently I watch wayyyyy to many crime shows. THE END.

{M.I.A}

I didn't know whether to post this here or not but I decided it's my blog.. I can post about what I want.
Also, you may not want to read this if you don't want to hear about boobs, pus and other things that people can find offensive.


In early January I noticed a lump in one of my 'boobs'. I attributed it to the fact that I was breastfeeding and figured if it was still bothering me when I got back from Seattle I would make an appointment. Well.. it was still there. I went to my Doctor who sent me down for an ultrasound because he couldn't be sure what it was without one. Of course, I had Kenzie with me and apparently they can't do ultrasounds with little babies in the room. O..K. Que, an ultrasound appointment the following week. By this time I noticed a red mark and the area was starting to really bug me. I was so excited for my appointment (even though it was a pain) because finally I would get some relief. NOT SO. The u/s tech took a few shots and told me she wanted to show the radiologist. A few minutes later the Doctor came in saying that the images were abnormal and I needed a biopsy. Say what? A biopsy.. seriously, it's just milk. Or at least that's what I thought. I called Jason and started crying of course thinking the worst. My biopsy was on Thursday and they wouldn't have the results until Monday. 4 days of waiting. Not fun. They also said that there was like a 1% chance of infection after the biopsy. The technician even said she had been working for about 10 years and has only seen one patient. Well, guess who that 1% was... me. Oh, and did I mention I wasn't allowed to lift anything (including Kenzie) for 3 days. Awful. I still can't.. but that comes later.




The hubs took excellent care of me the first few days. I felt like I'd been beat with a baseball bat. Really.. I'm sure that's what it would feel like. I thought this was only because I didn't take pain meds.


On Monday, I was anxiously awaiting the news. And you bet I'd prepared myself for the worst. Anywho 3pm rolled around and I hadn't heard anything so I braved it and called the Dr. She said she would call me back after she looked up the report. Her findings... inflammation from lactation. Seriously? Seriously?
1) I was mad I had to do the stinkin' biopsy for something I could have told her 
BUT
2) I was glad they actually checked it out
Anyways... I forgot to mention that i was still leaking out of my biopsy site.. i thought it was milk. So I told the DR and she said to come back in and they would fix it. When I got to the hospital they took one look and said 'that doesn't look good'. They promptly sent me up to the surgery department. The surgeon took one look and said... oh we have to open that back up and it's going to hurt. GREAT.. Fantastic. It wasn't enough that I had to milk holes in one boob but now I got to go through even more pain. Ugh. So inconvenient.
After he tortured me (really.. it hurt a lot.. I may of had some choice words). He sent me on my merry way. I picked up my meds and went home. Only to soak through my packed bandage a few hours later. I know, I know.. TMI. But I am just getting frustrated. I went back this AM to have a bandage change .. the nurse said it looked like mostly milk but it's still annoying. OH and I'm not allowed to BF on this side.. so poor Kenzie has been pretty much starving so she has become a mostly formula baby. THIS is what makes me so mad. I want to decide when to stop BFing.. not because of some stupid biopsy that I really didn't need. I'm sure if I pumped and pumped, etc.. I may be able to keep up but that's just not going to happen.


Anyways.. all is well and hopefully I won't have a huge lumpy chest from all the bandages very soon. But I won't hold my breath. Thank goodness for Mother-in-laws and husbands who can definately pick up my slack when I have limited physical abilities.


I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

{What I wore: Layers}

Since becoming a mom to our little Kenzie I find it hard to wear anything besides pajamas.i mean geez I'm lucky to even get a shower. When I saw Kayla from Freckles in April presenting her Winter Challenge I knew that I had to at least TRY. 
This is my first 'fashion' post & of course Jason worked late (he's still there) and our ONLY full length mirror is broken in half.. haha. So I only got a shot of my top half and my cutie Kenzie.

Top: Target Scarf: Ross Necklace: F21

 I didn't do the BEST at the challenge but hey... I got dressed. 
And I had skinny jeans on with brown knee high boots :) 
I would like to point out that I did layer a scarf over a necklace.

{Recipe: Crockpot Chicken Tacos}

I really hate cooking chicken on the stove but chicken tacos are one of my favorite dishes! But like I said yesterday we are sick at this house and the hubs and I have been trying to stop eating out so much. Let's face it I was feeling sick and lazy today So as the loving housewife that I am - I decided to try my luck at a crockpot chicken taco recipe I saw floating around.

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

+ 2-4 chicken breasts (I used the thin fillets because they cook through faster)
+ 1/2 c italian dressing
+ 1 package of dry ranch dressing mix (Mixed with 1/2 c of water)
+ 1/2 tsp ground cumin
+ 1/2 tsp chili powder
+ 1/2 tbsp minced garlic


Cook on high for 3-5 hours.
(Mine took about 3 hours)


I ate mine with flour tortillas BUT I'm thinking this would have been super yummy in a taco salad. Maybe next time.
How do you cook your chicken in the crockpot?
Have any yummy recipes?

{Sicky = Banana Bread}

Here in the Morris household we have been sick... the baby & myself that is. It's been awful. 

I can't sleep at night.. around 1am I realized I wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. Bring on  scrubbing the kitchen floor and counter. It felt pretty good. Hubby stayed up with K when she woke up around 2:30am (conveniently when I decided to climb in bed) after I made sure she was good and fed.
Then he was even such a nice guy to take her to church with him while I actually got uninterrupted and much needed I might add 3 hours of straight sleep. I also must add that our baby girl was so freakin' adorable in her little tutu dress. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture.. but trust me.. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!
I was feeling pretty 'domestic' and put together a crockpot meal for dinner. AND I even made banana bread from scratch. 
I got the recipe here but I halved it because 
1) I will be alone all week & don't need to eat a whole loaf by myself 
2) We only had 1 cup of bananas
I also only baked my bread for about 30 mins & I may have gone a little heavy on the brown sugar :)

       {Banana Bread}

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of mashed banana
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Stir in the eggs, mashed banana,vanilla and cinnamon until well blended. Add the flour mixture and mix, by hand, until it's just moistened. Pour batter into pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour @350. Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan.
 

So try it and let me know what you think!
Do you have a yummy banana bread recipe?

{Tender Mercies}

Today while I spent hours a few minutes on pinterest. I noticed that a friend had linked to this story. I read the entire post & watched all the movies. It's about an expectant young Mother with an 18-month old baby girl who's husband died in his sleep. It was gut wrenching to watch the video. I cried.. hysterically. She is so strong. It put a lot in perspective for me & what I am blessed with. It also showed what a strong testimony of eternal life that is shared by this strong family.
I thought this was a great message to share with everyone. I know it has strengthened me. It has also made me think about how blessed I am to have Jason as my eternal partner. Not sure what I would do without it him. Funny how that works. You have a perfectly fine life before you get married. Then you do find 'the one' and thinking about the life without them is just strange. I could not imagine losing him so early in our lives together. Not to mention losing him a few months before our 2nd baby was due. 
I love him. 
I love Kenzie. 
I love our eternal family.
Lastly I truly love the sweet family that shared this story. It has fortified my testimony of eternal families and God's individual plan for us all.

{Recipe: Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings}

I first had these while visiting my Aunt Nadine on Easter.  
Did I mention she was camping? Of course her idea of camping is the same as mine... in a trailer, a nice trailer. We had them again last week and I knew that I was hooked. 

 INGREDIENTS (this is for serving size of 2-4)
- 1 can pillsbury crescent rolls
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1-3 granny apples
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 1 can of mountain dew

1. Grease a small pan
2. Peel and cut up apples
3. Roll apples into crescents - Place in two rows on greased pan
4. Melt butter & mix in sugar and cinnamon
5. Pour butter mixture over crescents
6. Open Mountain Dew & pour over the top


Pop these bad boys in the oven for about 30-45 minutes at 350F
Enjoy over a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.

I looked online & there are several variations of this dish. 
I felt a little guilty about the amount of sugar so I cut down on the amount a bit. Obviously, if you have a larger family you can double the recipe (although I would still only use 1 can of Mountain Dew).

Awkward & Awesome Wednesday

Awkward
I totally forgot an awkward moment from our little trip to Seattle. 
My SIL Stacy picked us up from the airport & we promptly went to the huge mall right by the airport. Followed by a very important lunch date at The Cheesecake Factory. 
Enter an adult couple being cuddle bugs in the booth across from us.
I swear I always see the most AWKWARD couples when I'm out eating at restaurants.
ANYWAYS.. the woman was wearing one of those "kitty" beanies.
You know the kind that are super cute on kids... but not so much on adults.
Que... making out.. hardcore. With a kitty hat.
Could.. NOT.. look...away. 

Awesome
+Finally unpacking from our Seattle trip.. seriously, why is it so hard to unpack from a trip? 
+In case you were wondering we've been back for over a week. 
Meeting Jason for a little Chik-fil-a date after his first.. LAST..day of school. 
+Fresh, clean, sheets.. I love washing my sheets. 
They smell so yummy after. 


Did you have any awkward or awesome moments this week?

Our Weekend in Photos

On Friday we went to the Harlem Globetrotters game.
Kenzie had a great time & did super at her first basketball game.
Personally the globetrotters game is the best basketball game.
I get bored easily.

We spent the rest of the weekend watching netflix in bed.
Also, my mom and grandma came into town. We went to my Aunt's for a yummy dinner and a few games of FARKLE!
My Aunt beat all of us twice.. it's always fishy with her
Do you guys have a family member that conveniently ALWAYS wins at games? She's the one in ours.. CHEATER.

What did you do this weekend?

Seattle Trip

We had a great visit with family.


Kenzie had such a blast with all of her cousins, aunts & uncles.
I had a great time stuffing my face with Maggiano's and homemade cookies.
Jason enjoyed the down time. No work or school? Unheard of.
Kenzie enjoyed her first swim with Aunt Shelly
(because I was NOT getting in a bathing suit).
I enjoyed sitting by the fire & playing a fancy piano.
Jason enjoyed driving a BMW around .. ok.. ok.. I did too.

It's strange being home. We stayed at Jason's sisters house and they have 5 kids. LOTS of noise and action going on. It was kinda sad coming home to our quiet little place & I know Kenzie misses all of the attention she got while we visited.

Thanks Family we had a good time.

Awkward & Awesome Wednesday

only awesome this week...

- Going on vacation with the baby & hubs
- Spending time with family
- Matching PJs (pictures to follow)
- Yummy..delicious food every day
- Spending non-stop time with the hubby (oh wait, did I already mention that?)
- Seeing Kenz interact with her cousins
- Watching Kenzie go swimming
- Kenzie's first airplane ride
- Playing pretty music on a drool worthy piano
- Pedicures!!!

see.. it was a pretty awesome week.
I'm sure I'm forgetting tons. So glad we could take a few days off to play in Seattle.
Seattle Vacation post to follow so stay tuned :)

Happy New Year to Me

Kenzie decided she wanted to make a New Years resolution

Back Story: We have tried to get our little Kenzie bug to take a binky for 3 months. We have bought every different brand, size, color, shape..etc..etc. She would seriously launch it across the room or act like we were choking her. Then yesterday... I put it in (just for kicks) and she started sucking away. It has seriously been fantastic!! She went to bed with NO fuss.. I think I'm in love. Of course, ask me in a year or so if I feel the same. I am also happy to report that she has been going down at night around 10:00-10:30pm... SO much better than 1am. We are making progress people.

PS: These two were watching the 3rd Pirates .. obviously, we have ourselves a movie junkie

New Years Resolutions

Let's just talk about a few things that have been on my mind in regards to the new year..

1. After pregnancy body...
For the record I am a few pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant. HOWEVER... I went up a size.. because of these lovely wider motherly birthing hips. I must admit they are pretty convenient for hoisting a baby around but they also make more a lovely muffin top. No bueno.
STRETCH MARKS.. everywhere. Come on.. I had them BEFORE I was pregnant it's just not fair that I got them doubly bad when pregnant. What a sick joke.
Flabby belly.. it was no six pack before but it's very fluffy now.

For the first month after Kenzie, I really hated looking at myself. Like REALLY hated. I know it seems so vain. The stretch marks on my stomach were almost cute with a pregnant belly but with a flabby after baby belly... not so much. I didn't want Jason to see them & then thinking about the Summer made me cringe to think about getting a new bathing suit.

And although I can't get rid of these "stripes" that I now proudly wear after going through a pregnancy and birth of Kenz... I still can't help but to feel the need to be better.

GOAL #1 - work out 2-3 times a week (this is a big deal)
GOAL #2 - Eat healthier (a REALLY big deal) - This is going to be hard because cheeseburgers and fries are pretty much my favorite.

Disclaimer: These 2 goals will start next week as I plan to be extremely glutinous when we go visit family in Seattle

GOAL #3 - Be more productive
It's been a bit of adjustment being a stay at home mom. Most days I'm lucky to have showered or brushed my teeth. My goal is to have things planned.. walks with the baby.. lunch dates.. mommy play dates. I always feel much better when I get up and do things... so I need to commit to that.

Goal #4 - Be a homeowner.. this is in the works as we speak.. hopefully it works out. I can't wait to have our own place. We have been so blessed to stay at my in-laws for the past 3 years but with Jason finishing school in a few months it will be great to have our own place :)

Goal #5 - Read the B of M -- I'm embarassed to say I don't think I have read the Book of Mormon the WHOLE WAY THROUGH. Lucky for me our Sunday School class is studying the B of M this year. So if I stick to the weekly schedule I will be successful.

Goal # 6 - Take more pictures. I always say I don't look presentable for pictures. But with Kenzie I'd rather have some pictures than none.


That's it .. my 2012 goals. What are your goals?

Just AWKWARD Wednesday

An older gentleman talking about his colonoscopy.. at dinner. In a public place.
Did I mention I was eating my dinner?
Gag me. Really?
No one.. I mean NO ONE.. wants to hear you talking about waddling around after your special procedure.
done & done.

Seattle in T-minus 2 days =)

3 months old

Kenzie is 3 months old.
I was already feeling nostalgic and looking through pictures on my phone
& I'm already wondering where my baby has gone..
Nicknames: Kenzer, Boogie, Kenz, Baby doll
+ She sleeps 6-8 hours straight starting at about 1am
+ She has a longer attention span during tummy time & when she plays with toys
+ She cries and smiles at the same time... FAKER
+ She still loves bath/shower time
+ She is definitely a morning person.. not a good thing for mommy
+ She loves her daddy.. I think he's in trouble
+ Her eyes aren't as blue as when she was born..
we are guessing she will end up with darker hazel
+ She is a Jason Jr. ..
seriously, I don't know how this kid came from me..
she looks just like her Daddy
+ She's getting thicker hair.. and has like 20 cowlicks.. both Jason & I have them
+ We think she started teething on Christmas.. she drools EVERYWHERE and can't stop eating her hands
+ This girl is a chunky monkey.. she has like 6 rolls on her thighs and about 3 double chins
+ She cries every time I put a bow/flower on her... but it's just too cute