Hard to believe that Adeline has been in our lives for 3 WEEKS now! It feels a lot longer than that and the weekdays are flying by! My dad and sister flew in from California to meet our little girl this week:

We don’t have a scale, but we think she’s at (if not more than) 8lbs! Adeline is eating like a champ, but this momma is doing a trial run of life without dairy to clear up some “green poo” issues. I have never wanted to eat ice cream or cheese as much as I want to now, So far… the “green poo” issue is getting MUCH better, so I’ll stay away from dairy as long as the little one’s tummy needs me to!

Our sweet babe has also blessed us with pretty good sleep during the night! She’s usually up 4 hours after I put her down after a feeding. Those 4 hours of sleep are GREAT! She’s also only eating for 20-30 minutes at night, so from wake up till my head hits the pillow is under an hour. Momma likes that.

I’m feeling great, for being only 3 weeks post-partum, I’m really surprised at how quickly my body has gotten back to normal! I’m still taking it easy, we get out on a few short walks during the week and lifting a babe up and down all the time has any arm strengthening covered!

This weekend was full of fun! In addition to a visit from my dad, Catherine and Matthew (complete with an awesome dinner that the baby slept through at Lemongrass Thai Restaurant here in Oakley), we also went to a beautiful wedding of our friends, the Payne’s!

Adeline slept soundly through the ceremony AND most of the reception!!! And she slept well that night too (halleluia!) Daniel and I really enjoyed getting dressed up, and it was pretty fun to have people asking “Is that a REAL baby?!?” at the wedding.

We capped off the weekend with church and a walk around town. Daniel chose some craft beers at Dutch’s Larder and then we had a nursing session in the park on a beautiful fall Sunday.

Questions

If you have any topic ideas (I’ve got a post about our first few weeks of breastfeeding in the works) or any questions about ANYTHING (recovery, body after baby, a day in the life of a newborn, meals we’re eating, a post about how my dog is shedding ALL OVER THE PLACE), let me know in the comments or in a Facebook post or something!

Also, I am now on Instagram!!! Follow me @hollyccoop

Well, time has flown by and I’m nearly out of the first trimester of our pregnancy! Different sources say that the first trimester ends at 13 weeks (today) and some say it ends at 14 weeks! I wanted to go ahead and get this post up because I’ve been writing it FOREVER! I’m going to “theme” each week and then give a quick rundown of any “noteworthy” symptoms/thoughts of that week. Sound good?

I’m also doing a “good food/bad food” list as a way to recap the foods that I did and didn’t care for that particular week! Just wanted to throw in a disclaimer that I don’t think that the “Bad” foods are Bad! They just happened to make my stomach churn on those particular weeks!

Week 6: We’re Pregnant?!

Baby is the size of a Pea!

This is the week we found out we were pregnant! Click over to this post to read about how we found out that we were expecting our little one!

Good Foods:
Eggs, Chicken, Cottage Cheese
Pureed veggies (veggie soups)
Tea
Potatoes, dry cereal, gluten free bread
Greek Salads (probably the only “whole” veggies I ate all week)

“Bad” Foods:
Peanut Butter
Coffee
Vegetables (most)
Fruit

How I’m Feeling
Nauseous if I don’t eat every 1.5-2 hrs. Eating is the last thing that I wanted to do when I felt really bad, but it was really the ONLY thing that would help when I was feeling so icky. My chest is really tender this week (taking off a shirt hurts). Hoping this mellows out soon!

Workouts
I attempted a strength workout the day before we found out we were pregnant and it just wasn’t going well. I went on a couple of runs/walks this week, but that nausea was pretty humbling.

Week 7: Week of Nausea, part 2.

Baby is the size of a Blueberry!

It’s so weird having a little secret that only a few people know! I’ve wanted to tell so many people that we’re expecting, but I’ll bite my tongue for a little while longer! We went to our first prenatal appointment this week!

Good Foods:
Veggies incorporated into other meals, V8 juice
Carbs (potatoes, gluten free bread, cereal)
Homemade Veggie Sushi

“Bad” Foods:
Peanut Butter
Coffee
Garlic

How I’m Feeling
Aside from the existing food aversions, I’m feeling good! I took 3 naps this past week, but I haven’t been SUPER tired yet!

Workouts
I got in a really good incline-walk on the treadmill at the gym! It was 30 minutes, 4mph, and inclines varying from 4-11 (I don’t know if that’s like level 4 or if it’s a 4% incline, who knows). I also did a 45 min workout video from Netflix: Crunch: Total Resculpt. Not too difficult, but I just wanted to mooooove!

Week 8: We See Baby!

Baby is the size of a Raspberry!

We got an ultrasound this week (on Valentine’s Day!) I had originally guesstimated that we were at 6 weeks, but the ultrasound on V-day had little baby at 7 weeks and 4 days It was actually great to know that I was a little further along, I’m hoping that means I have a shorter amount of time that I’ll be feeling icky! My cousin, Donna works at the office where I see my doctor (Hi Donna!) We also told our families this week that there was a little one on the way!

Good Foods
Salty, Carby things (potatoes with salt, hashbrowns, toast with butter)
Normal foods (veggies, cheese, fruits”“

“Bad” Foods
Peanut butter (unless it is in puppy chow)
Coffee
The smell of eggs (at night)

How I’m Feeling
Mornings are great! No more nausea (knock on wood) during the daytime! Evenings have been a bit rougher. My stomach feels upset and bloated and just icky in general. I’m also pretty tired. 8:30 bedtimes are what my body wants (in addition to an afternoon nap), but, that’s not really an option due to work, so I guess I’ll just keep trucking along.

Workouts
Let’s think-I took a couple of walks with the dog, and I’ve been trying to walk to/from class (50mins). Other than that, not much. I really do want to incorporate more strength training, but my energy levels are so low in the evening that I just crash.

Week 9: Week of Sickness

Baby is the size of a Grape!

Well, week 9 started off on a pretty pitiful note. I came down with a 24 hour flu (fever and bad body aches) and stayed in bed almost all day. I felt better on Friday, but I started getting a cough on Saturday and laryngitis set in on Sunday and Monday. I woke up 6 times on Sunday night coughing. I wasn’t planning on waking up 6 times during the night until the baby was actually here… but my body had other plans.

Good Food:
Barbara’s All Natural Cheese Puffs (basically, more natural Cheetos. But way more delicious)
Cheese and tomato sandwiches (We went to Great Bagel on Sunday after church, and I had an amazing “Cheese Toast” sandwich on a gluten-free onion bagel (cheese, mustard, tomato slices and bacon.) I made the sandwich 4 times this week)
Bacon (nitrate-free, I ate almost the entire package!)

What I’m Not Eating
Coffee
Peanut butter
Garlic

How I’m Feeling
Evenings continue to be rough, and I’ve been sick most of this week. I had some 24 hour flu thing (fever, body aches), and although the flu like symptoms were gone, my energy was LOW. Then I got some laryngitis thing, I’m just now talking normally 6 days later! I am thankful for Tylenol and Nyquil (my doc said it was ok!)

Workouts
I did a 15 min strength training routine at home that hit all of the major body parts! I did each of the 15 exercises for a minute each (after a good warmup, of course). My legs HURT on Monday! I’ve had a couple of walks, but that sickness stuff really knocked me out!

Week 10: Feeling Good!

Baby is the size of a Kumquat!

Things really started to turn around this week! I didn’t feel as sleepy during the daytime, and my bedtime was 9 or 9:30 instead of 8:30! I totally forgot to write down facts about this week as it passed, but it was pretty uneventful! We visited some family in Columbus this weekend, and I was SO thankful to not have to really worry about nausea ruining a trip!

We totally forgot about taking a picture this week!

Crazy Pregnancy Hormones

I was calling for Silas to come back inside one night (it was probably raining) and he wasn’t coming. Now, I usually call for him a few times and he’ll come sprinting I got so frustrated that I almost stared crying. Daniel came out and used his “man voice” to call Silas back inside so I held back the tears. I’ve never been a HUGE crier, but I definitely find myself getting frustrated and angry more often than I used to.

Week 11: Peanut Butter, how I have missed Thee

Baby is the size of a Lime!

This week, I also reintroduced PEANUT BUTTER and COFFEE (half-caffeinated or decaf) into my diet! I’m still feeling like my NORMAL self!!! My energy levels are definitely picking back up, and most of my food aversions are gone!!

This was also our Spring Break, and it was SO nice to have a break from class (although I still had to work). We also got to catch up with friends this week, and we both realized that we need much more social time built into our schedules!

Workouts

Workouts are definitely something to mention this week! On Tuesday, I met up with one of my friends, Lela who is EXACTLY 2 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy! We met at the Arboretum and walked and talked about all things baby On Wednesday, I took a short walk before work with the pup around the ‘hood. Friday’s weather was kind of icky, so I opted to stay in and do a Gabrielle Reese- The Complete Fit & Healthy Pregnancy Workout Video. Each 15-minute session coincides with your month of pregnancy, so with the warm-up and Months 1 and 2, it was a nice 45 minute workout! HOWEVER- I wouldn’t suggest purchasing this video. There is a trainer working with Gabrielle and he hands her all of the equipment she needs (without giving you much time to get it). I like videos that say “You’ll need: an exercise ball, light dumbbells, heavier dumbbells and a resistance band.” I was scrambling to get each item. It was a good workout, but I just didn’t like how they didn’t give you a whole lot of information.

Week 12:

Baby is the size of a Plum!

We made our first baby-purchase today!

Daniel and I went out to Babies R Us to look at cribs, swings, strollers, etc. (aka things we’ve never had to think about before). We stopped in at a consignment store (Once Upon a Child) and browsed their selection of all things baby. We purchased a Baby Bjorn carrier for $25!!! (We saw that at Babies R Us, it was going for $80!). Daniel actually spotted the one that we purchased- it is made of a mesh material, so hopefully that will keep baby (and mom or dad) cool on our family walks next spring! When we got home, we decided we needed to test out the carrier with a little added weight, so we plopped Mowgli (the cat) inside. He really didn’t seem to mind!

Workouts

On Saturday, I headed out to the Arboretum to take advantage of the BEAUTIFUL spring day we were having! I did a walk/run for 4 miles. I warmed up with 5 minutes of walking and then would run for ~1 minute. I would walk until I felt like I wanted to run again (probably 2-3 minutes) and then I would run again. It felt great to get sweaty, and my mood was SO much better from getting some fresh air and MOVEMENT!

Growing Belly

Pounds Gained: -4 (still down a few pounds from my ‘pre-pregnancy’ weight)

Clothes that Fit: Everything except for 1 bra and 1 pair of pants that were snug to begin with

Body Changes: Well, one bra doesn’t fit anymore… and my lower abdomen has definitely started to round a bit. After a big meal (or just at the end of the day), my belly definitely sticks out. Still going to the bathroom 3x per night.

I’m planning on doing weekly posts from here on out, is there anything that you all want to see?

Hi friends! If we’re friends on Facebook (or in real life), you’ve probably already heard the news that Daniel and I are expecting our first baby!!!

We are very thankful that God is blessing our family with a baby, and we’re looking forward to the day when we get to meet our little Mini-Cooper!

Due Date: September 28th, 2012

How far along? 10.7 weeks (I’ll be 11 weeks on Friday!)

Was it planned? Well, GOD certainly had a plan, and let’s just say His plan is a little different from our plan (isn’t it always!) So no, we weren’t planning on growing our family for another few years, but we’re excited that God went ahead and said “Now is the time!”

How have you been feeling? Pretty good! I wrote recaps of each week after we knew we were pregnant, but I think I’ll just consolidate them into one big “First Trimester” post. I do plan on posting weekly updates though when we get into the second (and third) trimesters! I had about 2 weeks of all day nausea (morning sickness does NOT explain what it really feels like). Thankfully, the nausea (and accompanying food aversions) has greatly subsided! Our dear friends Ashley and David welcomed their little baby girl into the world in December, and Ashley was sick the entire pregnancy, so I feel very thankful that I’ve just had a little bit of that feeling! I’ve had a bit of fatigue from weeks 8-now, but a quick 20 min nap usually helps, and my new bedtime is somewhere between 8:30-9pm. (I went to bed at 8:15 the other night- GLORIOUS SLEEP!) I’m also getting up 2-3 times per night to use the bathroom (my kidneys are supposed to be functioning at a very high level- I believe it!) I feel like this past week, I’ve finally felt more like myself! Let’s hope this trend continues for a little while!

Boy or Girl? It’s too early to tell, but I’m kind of thinking BOY (because of all of the salty foods that sound good- sweet things (like fruit) just don’t sound good!) I really don’t know how people can “feel” that they’re having a certain gender- seems like a bunch of baloney to me!

How did you tell Daniel that he was going to be a Dad? The Pregnancy Test Story

I had about 30 minutes before Daniel got home from school. I wasn’t convinced that the faint “+” was a real positive, so I took Silas to Rite Aid and bought a 2 pack of tests (and got some Rite Aid bucks!) I chose a test that had no line if it was negative and one line if it was positive (didn’t want any confusion). 

I burst into tears and kept saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Daniel assured me that it wasn’t my fault and that I shouldn’t be sorry.

*Edited to add a few more e-mails that Daniel found in his inbox!*

My grandfather is a funny guy. He’s always busy doing something or another, and he always brings up the (seemingly) most random topics to talk about. He’ll say to me “Holly Bee, do you remember the garden of Mrs. So-and-So that was one or two houses down on the left from your house in Winston Salem, North Carolina?” (I was like 2 years old when we lived there.) Or “Do you remember the time that Grandma Betty and I came to stay with you for a week when your parents were out of town?” To this story, Grandma always adds “And we carried your potty seat in the back of the car?” (Again, I was under the age of two.)

We call my grandpa “Poopaw”, and I have no clue why we started calling him that. I think I’ll just continue to call him grandpa in this post so you don’t weirded out by seeing “POOPAW” written all over the blog…

He’s still sharp as a tack for his age- he’s almost 90 years old! WOW!

And now…. some phone calls and e-mails for your reading pleasure:

A phone call:

Holly, if you aren’t home, this is probably not gonna help. But maybe wherever you are, on Channel 18 is the people with dogs like Silas doing tricks at a Dog Show. And there’s a lot of dogs there that look like their closely related to Silas and they’re doing all sorts of things you know, it’s a really great show.

E-mails:

may i borrow mogli carrier for 2 days ? Hat lady on Della drive caught a raccoon in her wire trap Friday night. They took him to a park near airport.

recently lost my knee-pads (14 years) perhaps near little storage building. Save if you or dan. should see. I really miss them. Call and I will come , many grandma requests on hold because old sore bony knees require protection.

Subject: P.C. Working

-send messages quick before it quits again !

dear h.bee:  Please send top three or more  things that Silas prefers to do for day time games.Does he have nap time ? If so what hours are preferred ?

dear holly b. we need a mower check soon. remove and sharpen blade clean filter etc. I don’t have a dan cooper address any more ?

Please print for me: 

Keep doors locked and teach Silas to bark when stranger approches .With dan. in house extra security is needed especially if strangers are ladies. Next time you all come to leawood please bring Silas so B.J. can see examples of his new teachings. An indoor demo. would be especially interesting for both of us and appreciated. The date will then be known as SILAS APPRECIATION DAY!

Dan is the delux model in the limited edition catogory. Chances of any more being made is extremely remote.

thinking a recent visit from col. gas ,the cover was not replaced properly so check each time to be sure they “don’t forget”. Your dad says gluten free oats was a good thing so it will keep if not opened . Will dan eat some ? Turkey was extra super but so is FRESH fish rabbit ,squirrel etc. I will never believe all pilgrims ate or liked the same things. (nor indians)Deer or bear could be tasty too if properly seasoned and roasted. If Dan had been there he could have solved any problems concerning the prepartion or cooking.

Anyways, we love “Poopaw” and Grandma too. I thought it would be fun to share some of the silly things my grandpa say Enjoy your Monday!

Hi friends! Hope you’re recovering from a wonderful weekend! Daniel and I had the chance to spend the weekend with my awesome 13 year old brother! Even though Matt and I are 10 years apart, (with two awesome sisters sandwiched in between), we still have a blast when we hang out.

Matthew is an awesome boy- he’s charming, has a good sense of humor and he has Selective Mutism. Selective mutism is an anxiety-based disorder in which a person who is able to talk  is unable to speak in given situations. It often is linked with social anxiety or extreme shyness. That being said, Matt doesn’t talk a whole lot. Matthew also tends to avoid eye contact, and he often has a very “closed” posture when people talk to him (this occurs more with strangers, not as much with family and friends.) We still talk to him and ask him questions, but he rarely responds with anything more than a nod “yes” or “no”. Sometimes, when we are doing activities together, he’ll open up and talk with us in short bits.

Matt has recently been seeing a specialist who has given our family some great tools to help Matthew communicate. He has a “star chart”, and each day he completes a task, he gets to put a star on the chart. 100 stars equals a reward. It was so fun to sit down with him at the end of the day to see how well he had done interacting with us that day! As an example, Matthew gets a star for choosing something at a store/restaurant. We swung into a drug store after a day of being outside, and Matthew chose a drink from the cooler and he earned a star for making his own selection!

We always try to do something active when Matt is with us because we enjoy being out and about, and it often leads to him opening up and sharing a bit of his life with us!

This weekend, we decided to take advantage of the BEAUTIFUL fall weather and do one of Matt’s favorite activities: Pedal Boating at Jacobson Park.

I thought the boats only held two people (turns out they hold three), so Silas and I went to hang out in the lake while the boys got a leg workout.

^{Silas really wanted to play with the ducks…}

After Silas and I visited the dog park, we swung back and hung out on the playground with the guys and took some photos:

Matt had requested that we have burgers for dinner, and it turns out that Matt is quite the griller! We were out of charcoal, so the men built a fire (in the grill) using sticks and twigs.

The most special part of the weekend happened about 5 minutes before Matthew left our house to go home. You see, even though Matt has been around for 13 years, I’ve NEVER heard him say my name. He doesn’t really use people’s names at all. He’ll mention the names of the animals (Silas, Mowgli), but I’ve never heard him say a persons name. Right before Matthew left, Daniel and I challenged him to say our names. Just “Daniel” and “Holly”. We were prepared to give him $9 (the equivalent of about 90 stars- it takes him about two weeks to earn that many). Matthew recently purchased a PSP thingy and didn’t have any games yet. He told us that he wanted to buy a game, but that he had to earn $5-10 more to get it.

Daniel and I offered him $9 to say both of our names. At first, Matt didn’t seem to keen on the idea. After a few minutes by himself, Daniel and I went over and asked if he was ready, and Matt nodded yes.

I pointed to Daniel and said “This is"… “Daniel” said Matt. I pointed to myself and said “And this is”… “Holly” said Matt.

He said my name. I’m so proud of him and how he’s growing into a fantastic young man. I love my brother and I pray that God continues to help him to open up and to transform into the man that he was created to be!

To round out the graduations this season, Silas graduated from Obedience school on Tuesday!

We attended a 7 week course sponsored by the Lexington Dog Training Club, “A Social and Educational Organization Dedicated to Responsible Dog Ownership”. We had the opportunity to work alongise one another, under the supervision of an instructor, to get to know Silas better. With easy-to-follow exercises and homework assignments, we really learned how Silas operates. We had a great time, and we can proudly say that Silas does MUCH better in almost all areas of “obedience” (listening, focus, following direction, etc.)

Anyways, for what we got out of this course, we would highly recommend it to anyone! It was fun to be around other caring dog owners for 7 weeks, and it was great to watch their dogs succeed as well!

"Mom, really? Another picture?"

We had a wonderful time, and Silas even earned a new bandanna for graduating! Hooray!

Proud parents!

Another frittata recipe (yes, those are all links to 3 other frittata recipes). I know, I know. Boring, redundant, not exciting. Would you rather hear about my poison ivy? I could post some gross pictures, or I could tell you about all of the calamine lotion I’ve been dabbing on. Not fun. Somehow I had made it 23 years without ever getting poison ivy, and then when we went to the Gorge 2 weeks ago, things changed. Oh well. Maybe I’ll get lucky enough to go another 23 years without another splotchy red patch. My fingers are crossed.

I can tell you about something awesome that I did with my sis last night- Maggie got her first tattoo! Our cousin, Anthony Hall is an AWESOME tattoo artist. So, if you’re here in Lexington and need some ink, I’ll gladly give you his number! Here is a link to his profile- Reigning Ink. And here is my baby sister getting her first tattoo!

The flower is actually a Paw-paw flower. Our wonderful grandfather, whom we lovingly called Pawpaw passed away almost a decade ago. Maggie searched for a flower that she liked online, and amazingly enough, the one she liked happened to be the Pawpaw flower- how cool is that? Here’s a great post that Maggie did about the significance of the phrase “Breathe the world in” (which is also the title of her blog!)

Another fun fact before I bore you to death with a frittata recipe- I have a tattoo as well! I got my first (and only, for now) tattoo from Anthony as well back in 2009. It’s done with UV ink, so it’s pretty much invisible in plain light. BUT, when you put it under a black light, it GLOWS! (I haven’t even told my parents, Hi Mom, Hi Dad! See, Maggie isn’t too rebellious!)

It’s on the inside of my right calf. The phrase says “I surrender my life”, written in Hebrew. After seeing Maggie get her AWESOME tattoo, it really makes me want another, so I’ll definitely be thinking long about my next piece.

Daniel has a tattoo too, but for whatever reason, I cannot find a good picture of it! I’ll post it as soon as I can snap a pic!

Onto the recipe!

Squash Blossom Frittata

Ingredients

•   4 whole eggs (or 3 eggs and 2 whites)
•   3 small zucchini (from the garden)
•   5-7 squash blossom flowers (from the garden)
•   1/4 c. milk
•   1/2 pint mushrooms (about 10)
•   2 tsp. butter
•   Fresh Parsley and Chives, chopped (1 TBSP total)
•   Salt and Pepper

Directions

• Preheat broiler
• Chop your veggies- thinly slice mushrooms and zucchini. Chop your squash blossoms (after removing the centers (aka the stamen and pistil (the part with all of the pollen))

• Melt butter in a skillet with a metal handle (or put 2 layers of foil around a plastic handle)
• Sauté mushrooms until brown, add sliced zucchini and cook until they are tender (add a little bit of salt to season your veggies)
• Add your chopped squash blossoms and sauté just until the blossoms are warmed
• Pour in egg mixture and LEAVE IT ALONE! (make sure your veggies are distributed in the pan before adding your eggs)
• Let mixture cook on the stovetop for 3-5 minutes, or until the center is starting to set
• Put your pan into the broiler for 3-5 minutes so that the eggs set and the top gets lightly browned and puffed

To be honest, you can’t taste the squash blossoms at all. This would have been REALLY good with some sharp (asiago or parmesan) cheese, but we didn’t have any. A creative recipe indeed, but you really won’t know that there’s a strange ingredient in there!

Today is the beginning of the best 6 months of my year. For the next 32 weeks of this year, Daniel and I will be the same age. I don’t like being the older spouse. In fact, I found my FIRST WHITE HAIR a couple of weeks ago. Yes, you read correctly, white. Anyways- today marks Daniel’s 23rd birthday. I wish I could say we’ve had an awesome day solely dedicated to celebrating his birth, but instead, we went through our mundane daily tasks and we’ll wrap up our evening with a special meal (cough*wehaveacoupon*cough) at Qdoba. Even though we’re not really doing anything special today, we celebrated plenty over the weekend!

I tried to throw Daniel a surprise party, but the whole “surprise” aspect was a complete flop after I left my e-mail open on Daniel’s computer. You see, my computer is suffering from the virus of death, so I’ve been using Daniel’s laptop for all of my odds and ends. Despite not being a surprise party, it was still a great treat to have our friends and family over to celebrate his birthday.

Even though the surprise didn’t work out- I managed to bake a cake, WITH substitutions/adjustments AND without burning anything, AND it even received compliments!

Here’s how the no-added oil cake went down:

Dummy-Proof Cake

Ingredients

• Boxed “white cake” mix
• Boxed “devil’s food cake” mix
• Eggs
• Water

Directions

White Cake

• Dump the cake mix into a bowl.
• Lightly beat 3 egg whites, dump into bowl
• Add in 1 1/3 c. water to eggs and mix
• Mix everything together and pour into 2 9” pans. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 (or follow baking instructions on box)

Devil’s Food Cake

• Dump the cake mix into another bowl
• Lightly beat 2 eggs, dump into bowl
• Add 1 1/3 c. water to eggs and cake mix
• Mix everything together and pour into two 9” round pans. Bake 30-35 minutes (or follow baking instructions on box)

Now, things get interesting. Let the cakes cool in their pans, and transfer to plates. Put the cakes in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. You’re going to be cutting out circles of the cake, and refrigerating the cake helps it to stay together.

Find two circular objects of 2 different sizes (both smaller than the cake). Use your “medium” sized object to cut a ring out of all of the cakes. Use your “small” sized object to cut out the center of each cake. Basically, you’re cutting concentric circles into the cakes.

Why? Well we’re making a checkerboard cake!

You’re going to start building your cake, starting with the bottom layer: use a large ring of chocolate cake, a medium ring of white cake, and a small circle of chocolate cake. For the next layer, use a large ring of white cake, a medium ring of chocolate cake, and a small circle of white cake. Alternate your layers until your cake is as big as you want!

IMPORTANT: Don’t be a dummy like me- smear a little bit of frosting between the layers, you’ll see why later…

Now onto the frosting recipe:

Dummy Proof “Light” Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 block Neufchâtel cheese (or reduced fat cream cheese)
• 1/4 c. butter, softened (1/2 stick)
• 4 c. powdered sugar (1 lb)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

• Dump everything into a stand mixer, start your mixer on a low speed, and whip until everything is combined. Make sure to taste test as you go along, quality control matters.
• Refrigerate until you’re ready to use!

Give your cake a ‘crumb coat’ of the frosting (just slather it on), and then put on a “nicer” layer. Again, BE SURE TO PUT FROSTING BETWEEN THE LAYERS!

When you’re done frosting your cake, store it in the fridge until you’re ready to have the birthday boy blow out his candles, all 23 of them!

I also whipped up some gluten free cupcakes, and while they were tasty, I’d like to play around with the recipe before giving it out to anyone!

The night was filled with family and friends, the men played a little bit of Frisbee while the ladies chatted away. Mrs. Coop and Woody shared their stories of their Italian adventure with our friends, and we all enjoyed each other’s company!

I wouldn’t leave you without a final picture of the CHECKERBOARD CAKE!

We had a great time celebrating with everyone!

Happy 23rd Birthday Husband!

Hello friends! I hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing Memorial Day weekend! We had our share of relaxation and food over the weekend in Louisville. On Friday night, we got to see two of our very good friends, Courtney and Jeremy, tie the knot!

We also hung out with some of my family, and took some fun family photos!

I took some fun photos of my lovely sisters. Did you know that my sister, Maggie (far left), has a BLOG?

She’s getting ready to head out to California this summer for an internship at Russ Reid (the company my dad works for!) She’s a pretty cool girl- I should also add that she earned a 4.0GPA during her first year of college. Go Maggie!

We had a great time with Daniel’s family too! I always forget to whip my camera out when we’re hanging out with them, probably because we’re laughing too much! Daniel and I also got in a couple of SWEATY workouts in this weekend, try the BodyRock.tv 600 Rep Fat Burner Challenge- we could only do 300 reps as we decided to do the workout out on the deck… in 90 degree weather. It was hard! Now we’re back home in Lexington, getting ready for the week ahead.

Shower curtains drying in the sun

Pots and Pans hanging in place

Pictures repositioned on the mantle and bookshelves organized

Did I forget to mention that Saturday, May 28th was Silas’ first birthday? Our 1st anniversary was obviously the more meaningful celebration, but Silas’ 1 year birthday is pretty important too. Here are a couple of flashback photos of our little pup.

Silas will be attending his 3rd week of his 6 week long Obedience course tonight. I’m cheap and I won’t spend money on things I can make myself, so I whipped up a new batch of training treats for our pup.

Silas isn’t a fan of the heat!

Crunchy Peanut Butter Dog Crackers

Ingredients

• 1.5 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 1 c. rolled oats (use instant or quick cooking)
• 1/4 c. peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
• 2 TBSP flax seed
• 1 c. water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Mix dry ingredients together ( I used a stand mixer, beaters would work as well. Hand mixing would be a great workout!)
3. Add in peanut butter and water.
4. Mix until dough ball forms and dough pulls away from side of bowl.
5. Lightly flour your working surface, roll out dough into a thin sheet (without dough breaking)
6. Transfer sheet of dough to an oiled cookie sheet.
7. Cut tiny squares with a pizza cutter.
8. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the treats are lightly browned.
9. Turn off the oven and allow the treats to cool inside the oven (this will make them crispy!)
10. Break apart the treats, and use as rewards for good doggy behavior!

Store excess treats in the freezer!

Just for perspective, this makes two entire containers of doggie crackers!