Little Baby Nutt:)

Well we had our first appointment today:) The baby's heartbeat was 160+ and everything is looking great. It was a different pace then Luckas, He was all over the place around when we got his first ultra-sound. This baby she/he was so calm just chilled in the same spot the whole time. Stretched out her/his legs and arms, she/he is going to have long legs like Luckas did. I hope my ribs don't take a beating again this time around. She/He was putting their arms in front of their face trying to be shy in front of the camera! I also got some AWESOME news that my best friend back home just found out today that she was off on her due date...she is due JULY 12TH, 2011..just like me:) Best friends going through pregnancy at the same time...we are pretty excited even though we are over 1,000 miles away from each other! We are going in January to find out the sex of the baby since February is going to be a VERY short month for us with all 3 of our birthdays, our wedding anni and then Lucke's birthday party. We can't wait to find out:):) My motherly feelings are saying GIRL...but I would be very happy to have another boy!!

Puppy Chow:)

It really isn't DOG FOOD, I really don't know how this amazing, yummy little snack got the name. But trust me its one of my all time favorites:)

Puppy Chow

What you will need:

1 cup peanut butter
2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1 box of Chex cereal (any flavor if you want)
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar or as needed

Instructions:

1. Combine peanut butter and chocolate chips over the stove top so I can mix them together and make sure the chocolate doesn't dry out! PLEASE DON'T USE BUTTER..many recipes tell you to use it but when you put butter and chocolate/peanut butter together it doesn't work. You will have to start all over!

2. Stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Stir well.

3. Place the 1 box of Crispix cereal in a very large bowl.

4. Pour the peanut butter-chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss evenly, making sure all the cereal gets a good covering.

5. Coat with powdered sugar, sprinkling evenly over the cereal and tossing as you sprinkle to cover each piece well.

Now you have some Puppy Chow:)Enjoy!!!

Baby McNutt #2:)

Its about time that I write a blog about the newest addition coming to our family next July 2011!!

Well by now everyone knows we are preggo with baby #2. I went in for my intake appt after doing the cup ordeal, getting blood drawn +passing out and this silly little class I had to take to which was a waste of my time since it was information I already knew since I have delivered here at the NH in 29 Palms. We had been trying since this summer and I was starting to honestly feel we were going to have the same issue we had trying to get preggo with Luckas. So, I was trying not to get myself down that path. Then when I tested on October 30th, I really didn't want to look at the test, so I didn't!!haha I waited and then I looked and I saw this little pink second line starting to appear and then that first line was SLLLLOOOWWLLYYY coming through too. I had to really rub my eyes and look hard. I walked out and had a smile on my face, Justin is laying on the sofa and I asked him to come here. He was already comfy on the sofa and didn't want to get up. So I tell him we are pregnant, I brought him the test and the look on his face was pretty priceless. He looked like he got hit by a semi-truck. He was in shock, excited-basically every emotion was running through him from what it looked like.

We sat there and I was thinking up my due date and it so happens to be on my mother-in-laws birthday July 12th, 2011. She is beyond excited:) We have our first appt on December 13th and I honestly can't wait to see our little baby nutt on that screen!! Also, we have been doing the baby name game. The boy name is set and the girl name is getting narrowed down more and more. As of right now we are NOT going to announce the baby name till the baby is born. I might change my mind, but right now its pretty much set on not saying one single word on the final name when we find out the sex of the baby. I'm so beyong EXCITED that Justin gets to be here for the whole pregnancy and the birth. He deserves this so much. He missed out on Luckas and now he gets to be here for our new bundle of joy. And I will admit I'm really at ease since I'm going to have my best friend there with me in my "corner":)

Anyways, I will keep everyone updated with all news!!!

November 2010

I honestly love when the weather starts to change...well not much here in 29 Palms,CA. But at least the leafs are turning colors and falling off the trees. And I know that its starting to get closer and closer to my favorite holiday Christmas:):) Well I wanted to post some of the lovely art work Luckas has done at daycare or here at home with me. He loves to color, draw and he gets really into it haha. I'm thinking about making some turkey hats with him. He might rip it up but then again he might wear it. I'm just really excited that he is older now and can kinda understand whats going on with the holiday.

Here are our Turkeys that are hanging in the kitchen:) Then his really sweet fall sticker collage he did at daycare the other day. Then tonight we made baby and mommy Turkey hands! These were taken via-cellphone since I didn't want to drag out all the cords to my camera. Lazy, yes I know.

Its Fall Time:)

Yet again, its been awhile since I have updated the blog. We are always so busy!!! Well here is an update on whats going on with the McNutt's:)

Luckas is going to be 20 months old tomorrow. I literally tear up everytime I think about him turning 2 years old in 4 months. My baby, my little man who just weighed 8lbs 0.2 oz when he was born is now talking, climbing into his own highchair (oh yes, we caught him getting into his highchair all on his own). He lets us know here and there when he has to use the potty. Luckas literally loves to be outside and playing on the playground and swinging. He is just like his mom and dad with being an outdoor busy body. He is just growing up way to fast and I cant stop it. Before I know it, I will be singing him happy birthday again and have him blowing out a number 2 candle on his birthday cake. Time really needs to slow down for us!!!

Justin is keeping busy with work and school. He got on the dean's list for having a 4.0 gpa since February. He should be finishing up his degree by next August. I swear he is the best dad in the WORLD!!!!!!!!!!! He gets up with Luckas alot when he doesnt have to go into work till noon or on his day off. He loves being a dad and spending his "daddy/son" time. Luckas gets so excited when Justin walks through that door, its like he was given 239074095639 presents!! He gives Luckas a bath basically every night and I do the dishes now..had to switch it up. Ugh I could go on and on about everything.

And for me, well I'm busy with OJP getting ready to start booking lightly for the holiday season and new year. I'm trying to finish my dental assistant schooling and then I will be jumping right into another course for Buisness. I'm nervous but I'm excited to have accomplished all this on my own and have that for myself....yay go me:):) Other then that I'm slowly getting everything to come together for my business. I cant wait for next year so I can get it all in order and have all my i's dotted and all my t's crossed! Luckas and I just got back home from visiting Kansas...let me tell you. I miss it already:( I just miss being around family the most. I miss not having to be surrounded by people all the time, I miss the country and the flint hills. Ugh, I could go on and on about how much I miss home.

Eeekkkk....the HOLIDAYS are coming up. And I cant wait:) We are going to have Christmas here in 29 Palms in our own home. I can't wait for it all to come together and start our own traditions together. Yippeee:) Okay, right now I have to go do my dishes so I will blog later!!

29 Palms Isn't So BAD....

Right now this is the PERFECT topic for me right now. All I hear lately is how 29 Palms is hell or how people hate it or how it sucks. I'm a small town country girl that was born and raised in America's Heartland KANSAS. Where the nearest Wal-Mart was 30 minutes away and everyone knows everyone. You wave the two finger wave when you pass someone on the road. Where when the fair/derby comes to town its like the best thing that has happend all summer. I miss WIDE OPEN spaces called the COUNTRY. The smell of alfalfa smells great when the windows are rolled down. I know this may sound SO FUNNY but I miss that amazing smell of cow crap, I miss the sounds of trains, I miss the sound of a freaking tractor driving down the road. I love the small town feel!!!!! I know 29 Palms isnt the best place on the planet and its not like where we are from but to me it has that small town feel with all these crazy 29 native people around us. I know you all may think I have lost my marbles after saying this but I would rather live in 29 Palms then down in Camp Pendleton/Camp Lejeune or in the area(s) due to the fact that I would never drive anywhere. Its SO CONGESTED with PEOPLE!!!! It may get up to 110+ here in 29 Palms, but I'm used to that plus humidity from Kansas. I miss green I will admit but this is the desert and I have learned to live with it since I have been here since 2007 and will be here till 2012. People are so spoiled when they go to big bases near cities but then I hear them complaining about how they hate it or the traffic. I think 29 Palms is a great place, it grows on you. It makes you appreciate living someone else to be honest. 29 Palms has alot to offer you just have to dig deep and find it and stop whinning about it. I have great memories here and it will always have a place in my heart since its where I reunited with my love after him being gone off to war, our son was born here, I met some great people here that are like my family, snow is like winning the lottery when it does snow. So I think people should give it a chance before you go judging a book by its cover since some of you are so freaking spoiled!!!bahahaha

Major UPDATE:)

Well I know, I know that I have been slacking on the whole blogging thing but life literally caught up with me since June. Get ready to be read alot and catching up some MAJOR cuteness!!!

1.Luckas got his 1st HAIR CUT:
Justin and I decided that it was time for Luckas to get his hair cut due to the major fact that his original birth hair was getting in his eyes and I couldn't just slide it over to the side anymore. I got so caught up on making it to his appointment on time that I forgot to grab my camera battery that was charging so I had to take photos on my cell phone. Luckas did a great job and didn't cry at all while sitting in Justin's lap:) We have since then got his hair cut yet again since it grows so FAST!!

And after his second hair cut:D He is a STUD MUFFIN!!
2.Homecomings for Olive Juice Photography:
I got the amazing chance to be at 3 homecomings for three awesome girls that had their men coming home to them. I did one of them for my partner in crime Tina...we also had an amazing time getting hit by a sandstorm while we waited for the buses to pull up. The traffic had come to complete stop and when the sand finally cleared alot of the marines that were already at the field were running over to a wreck that had happened near by. I know Tina didn't care what she looked like at all after the sandstorm, she was just pumped to have her man home!! Anyways that was my little spill. I wont post any photos since this is not the Olive Juice Photography blog. Check it out here: OJP Blog.

3.Luckas giving kisses:
I can't STRESS how much I love our son. He is the best miracle that I have ever seen! I never knew that I could love someone so much as I love Justin. But the love you have for your own child is BEYOND anything in the world. Luckas has grown so much and is so smart!! He does this cute face that I caught while after giving Justin a kiss. He comes up to you and gives you a kiss and then laughs with a cute little smile:):) Just see for yourself.

4. 18 month check-up:

Luckas had his 18 month check-up today and he did really good:) He weighs 26 lbs and is 32 inches long. His cute little noggin is in the 94%-tile which is fine the doctor said. He is just taking after his McNutt side of the family since his great-grandpa McNutt and is daddy have nice big noggins! She was very impressed that he is already using the potty for only being 18 months old. He knows more then 10 words..I think its more like 15+ words now. He still has eczema which is calming down now. We still have Ace Poo McNutt since that is Luckas' doggie and he loves him so much. I usually cry when he gets his shots and Justin was supposed to be there to help me today but was needed at work. But I didn't cry and was the firm hand to comfort Luckas (which he usually wants his daddy). But I'm just glad that he is all healthy and is a freaking SMARTY!! Here he is on his 18 month birthday dinner. Ps. Thank you to whoever was so kind to pay for our dinner that night. That was so kind of you, I will return the favor one day to someone!

5. The Cute Shoe Monster:

We have this shoe monster in our house that likes to take our shoes and spread them through out the living room or walk-in area. I bought these bins for all our shoes..we all have our own. And you would think mine would be the one with the most shoes...nope he has more then me. Anyways Luckas has this little fetish with playing with our shoes. I think its cute until I have to go somewhere and I can't find the other shoe that I need. He has dumped his own shoe bin out all over the house. He loves to take Justin's shoes and wear them, he gets really mad when he can't fit both his feet into one of Justins shoe. Here is our Cute Shoe Monster in action..
And thats just in a 15 minute time frame:)

Well that is all for now. I think I got everything thats going on with us. I'm busy with running the house, taking care of Luckas and running OJP. I have to finish the last of my dental schooling. Just have to get past the fact that this last book is HUGE and there is 33 tests to take. Justin is just starting back on schooling from his two week break. Busy working and being the best dad and husband to our family:)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my best friend, an amazing husband & the BEST Dad on this planet!!! We love you so very much Justin, thank you so very much for everything that you do for us. We are excited to let you sleep all afternoon and be bums with the spare matress on the living room floor to watch movies all day with you:) This is actually Justin's 3rd Father's Day to be celebrating:)Why you ask?!?

[June 2008]

Yes, We found out 2 years ago that we were expecting:) My mother was out here visiting California for the first time, Justin just headed off to the field to train for his up coming deployment back then. I just decided on the whim to take a test and sure enough....two PINK lines. I had to scream down to my mom because I needed another set of eyes. I also contacted one of my friends to run with me to Rite Aid to get another pregnancy test. Because I didn't believe the test!! It of course says "PREGNANT". I was literally blowing up Justin's phone to tell him the good news, I also had my mom and my friend Melissa texting and calling him. Just incase he got signal out in the middle of no where and got the amazing news:) We finally got ahold of him and he was so in shock but so HAPPY/EXCITED he told everyone on the mountain and called his dad. That was Justin's first Father's Day & his first Father's Day present!!Your the BEST dad & husband anyone could ask for:) Hope you have a great day with us!

♥ tiffany

Doctor Update

Its going to be short and sweet:)
We went to Luckas' follow up appt early this afternoon. I will be honest I was kinda freaking out that they were going to give me bad news. But I was praying and hoping the best. They weighed him and he gained weight YAY!!!!!! He is now 23 lbs 14oz. We are so happy that he is eatting and acting like he should be. He was chowing down on some snacks while she was talking to me. She was very impressed with how much he was chowing down. He was being silly and she would ask questions he would answer in his own way by shaking his head no or yes, with some babble in there with a smile haha. She thought it was cute!! She said his x-rays came back "outstanding" in the other doctors words. The meds that she put him on (the prevacid) seems the be working. Lets just hope he doesnt catch another little virus!! So everything is going great:) YAY!!!!

♥ tiffany

Don't Want Him To Grow Up

I really don't want to even think about Luckas becoming this "BIG BOY" that he is turning into! He never used to reach the top of the entertainment center. He never used to reach the stove top knobs. He never used to be able to go down the stairs by himself (with us in tow right behind him)! He never used to stand on his tippy toes and literally look OVER the baby gate into the kitchen. He never used to put his own diapers in his diaper pail and move it to put it in the pail. There is so much more that he does now since he is growing up before our eyes!! We don't have a "baby" anymore, he is a full grown toddler on the loose. He is about to turn 16 months in 2 1/2 days. Where does the time go?!? Why do they have to grow up so fast?!? Its like I just got to hold him for the first time. Giving him his first mommy kiss:) Changing his first diaper and just looking at him for hours!!
So now we are on the hunt for a new "BIG BOY" toddler bed for Luckas. We would use his crib since it turns into a toddler bed and then a bed. But we are planning to have another baby. So the new little bundle of joy will be needing the crib.

As of right now, we have found two beds that we like. We all know that being in the military we dont get paid worth crap. But this bed should do right now:)We did find the brand that Luckas' crib is in but we would be saving some $$ going with choice #2.

Choice #1 & #2
Now you maybe asking yourself....they are basically the same bed! They are two different brands. The first one is $50+ more dollars then the second one. I saw this and was really pumped to know I could save some $$ and get the style that I wanted:) Its a win win right!?! I am really excited to his bed in and come home our Kansas/Nebraska trip this fall and have him try out his new bed!!! Now for his new bedding thats already figured out and picked. We are sticking with his jungle theme and the colors painted on his wall. its going to be so cute when its all put together. Keep an eye out this fall for more photos!

♥tiffany

X-Ray Time

Luckas went in for his upper GI X-Ray this morning at 9am. They always tell you to show up 15 minutes before your appt time, but they you wait like 20-25 minutes to get seen. Atleast that happens here in 29 Palms! We didn't get seen till 9:30. I wasn't supposed to feed Luckas anything so he had no breakfast. I wasn't going to NOT give him anything to drink. They made him drink this nasty chalky drink that I added to his milk which he drank! The doctor was taking x-rays watching this weird drink go down into his stomach. We had to wait 15 minutes after that to get this first x-ray after. Then we had to wait another 30 minutes after that. I'm literally trying to keep him from going nuts by cuddling with him and letting him run around in his diaper and t-shirt with his cute little shoes on. Everytime we had to go back to the room to lay down to get the next x-ray, he would SCREAM like he was dying. I had to calm him down by myself so we could get a good shot. Poor little guy:(

He did finally break down and cuddle with me, he passed out. After 5 minutes of being asleep he starts snooring which was so adorable:) Here is his little photo of him passed out. Besides getting the upper GI X-Ray, they had to do another test thats why it took so long! His doctors wanted another test done so another why he had to take that nasty drink so it could get to his colon. After the 4th x-ray, I was so happy to hear that we didn't have to stay another 30 minutes for another x-ray. We go in for a follow up on Thursday to get the results on what they found out!! Hoping for good news:) Keep him in your prayers.

♥tiffany
ps.these photos were taken on my cell phone.

No Eggs/Allergies

Lately everything has been fitting together like a little puzzle. Ever since Luckas was put onto formula after I couldn't breastfeed him anymore, he was projectile vomiting his formula Enfamil Lipil that WIC provided us coupons to get. We were back home in Kansas last April 2009, we are at Taco Johns when Luckas just vomits all over himself and its so much that it goes through his car seat onto the floor. We went and bought him Enfamil AR the spit-up resolution formula. That formula stopped everything and we figured that it was just the formula! Well January 2010 rolls around and we move into our new house so we started him on whole vitamin D milk. He started vomiting yet again, so at his 1 year check up we asked the doctors at the naval hospital if he was okay and told them his symptoms. They said he was fine, so we just left with that. As the months kept rolling by we thought he was fine and just had the flu bug which he caught OFTEN. He would just get sick out of the blue with no fever, could be in the middle of the night, after he woke up, just whenever. We started to really get worried last month when it was happening more and after the past trip down to San Diego and the birth of my friends son. I scheduled an appt for him to get seen for reflux. I had been searching online for symptoms and most of them Luckas had. I was freaking out!!! The doctor put him of Prevacid to help with the reflux, he got blood drawn to see if maybe he was allergic to milk and we had to schedule a GI x-ray for him.

[this is him getting his blood drawn for the blood test..it took a lot for me not to start crying, poor guy had to get pricked 3 different times]

Since his last appt Luckas got sick twice yet again. So I called the Quarter Deck to see what I should do. The on call Doctor called me and said she would have the nurse call me in the AM to set him up an appt the next day so he can be seen and treated. We go in yesterday and since his 15 month check up he has lost already 1 lb and a couple ounces. His eczema has flared up really bad towards the end of May. So she gets him a stronger cream and gets him aquaphor for his eczema around his eyes. Benadryl for the itching and then she tells me that his blood work has come back already and that he is 90+% allergic to cat dander, 40%-50% allergic to eggs and dog dander. She told me recommends me not getting a cat anytime soon and that we should take cut eggs out of his diet for 9-12 months to see if he out grows it. As for the dog dander, ACE is staying since his breed is hypoallergenic. Gabby is already gone (if you knew who that little stinker is) Luckas and Ace are like best of buds and that's Luckas' "goggie".

[playing with his best friend♥luckas will tug-a-war with all day if luckas wanted to]

So after all that information, you would kind of think it would be easy to find books, information online or anything online about "no egg" baking or cooking. Its harder then I thought. I can find some recipes or I'll find something and start reading and it has eggs in it. Why would people waste my time with putting "no egg" and have egg in it. I have gotten frustrated a few times so far with this. But I have a good friend Erika down in San Diego who is a very happy vegetarian and knows her stuff about "no egg, no milk, no meat..." stuff. But its not that easy to be honest so I have been looking all over for maybe some good priced books and this is what I have found so far.

1. Joy of Vegan Baking

Looks like it could have some good baking things so Luckas can still have cookies and cake with us and not feel left out. I hope that it has some bread recipes in there too so I can make some bread for him so he can have some toast:)Since its his FAVORITE thing to eat lately. What caught my eye when reading what the book was about "The Joy of Vegan Baking lets you have your cake and eat it, too!" It should be helpful since I'm not an expert baker so I will be able to understand it!

2.The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes

Now this one looks like it could be alittle fun with pies:) I would love to tackle a pie or two to see if Luckas will eat it. But it just depends on the sugar, since we don't want him taking in a lot of sugar. Got to keep him healthy:) It says all these recipe are all homemade and it does have bread recipes in it. This book could be a winner to what I'm looking for since it helps understand replacers for butter, eggs, nuts and so on.

3.Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

This is a book that Erika referred to me. I really didn't get to read much about the book and what it have to offer since these authors have already have another book out. I might have to look more into it. But its worth a shot:)


4.Bakin' Without Eggs

This book is in my "cart". I got to read alittle of the intro thank you to amazon.com. The author that wrote the book was writting this book with one thing in mind. You can find a lot of books that pertain to one theme. But she wrote this book for families that can't use eggs. She also says that there are books out there for "no eggs" but those eggless books are found natural food stores. So as for Justin and I being meat eatters that we are, we are having a harder time finding books for Luckas:( Thank goodness for this book.
I just wanted to say if I have offened anyone I'm sorry. We are not going VEGAN or VEGETARIAN. Abuse to animals is very wrong, but we love meat to much! I was born on chicken, steak and mashed potatoes!! I have been doing alittle more than a handful of research for Luckas; health.Thanks for reading:)

♥ tiffany

Santa Fe Chicken Recipe

Thanks to some of my girl friends, I have really enjoyed doing this meal planning so far. It has gotten NEW food and recipes into our bellies! This one is a big one for me since I am not a big fan of any kind of beans but green beans. I was willing to go out of my comfort zone and to try this new recipe I found:) Lets just say Justin was VERY excited to have some beans in the house for the night. He devoured everything, score for me! I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.

Santa Fe Chicken

Ingredients:

2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1 can (19 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 can (10-1/2 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1/2 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

Directions:

HEAT oven to 400°F.
MIX rice, beans and peppers in 13x9-inch baking dish. Combine soup, water and cilantro; pour evenly over rice mixture.
TOP with chicken. Spoon salsa over chicken.
BAKE 35 min.; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 min. or until cheese is melted.

(I personal cooked it for 45 minutes so I knew the chicken was done..I just added some more water for the rice)

Thanks again kraftfoods.com

♥tiffany

Short & Sweet

So sorry for slacking again on writing. We have been really busy here with everything going on. Planning a trip back to Kansas/Nebraska to see family and to do my first wedding for a friend of mine that I went to school with. Luckas being more of a toddle & teething which is back!!!! Justin having another team out here and working all PM shifts and keeping up with college we have been all out of whack.

Tomorrow we are heading up to Pioneer Town for a nice little family afternoon:) Its going to be so nice to just spend time together. Everything here is going good. Just keeping busy and enjoying Justin being non-deployable!! We need to start taking advantage of that WAY more!!!

Till next time:)

♥ Tiffany

Saucy Pepper Steak

So meal planning has been going really well. I was really excited about this meal since its new to us and it looked really yummy in the photo when I bookmarked this for dinner. It was very simple to make and we had left overs for Justin to take to work the next day, but I ate them instead! I got this recipe from http://www.kraftfoods.com/:)

Saucy Pepper Steak

What You Need:
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, cut into strips
1 lb. well-trimmed boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
1/2 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce
2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Instructions:
HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and onions; cook and stir 6 to 8 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Transfer to large bowl; keep warm. ADD meat, garlic and black pepper to same skillet; cook and stir 3 min. Add soy sauce; cook 1 min. or until meat is cooked through. Add barbecue sauce; cook until heated through. SPOON meat mixture into bowl with vegetables; toss gently. Serve over rice.

This is what you'll end up with....

The Luckas Vocabulary

Well Luckas has been on a roll with learning words lately=] He also loves to copy what you say so we are now at the stage where we need to watch our words wisely. He goes around the house, in the suv or even in the middle of the store he will just start talking his jibber jabber and sometimes he gets REALLY loud. He is just so freaking smart, he knows that if he crawls behind my side table he can get my drinks. I can ask him "where is your cup?", "do you want some juice?", "are you hungry?", "want to go bye-bye?" or my favorite "want to take a bath?". He knows what the means and he will respond by grabbing his sippy cup and handing it to me, runs to the gate to wait for his juice or to get in his highchair to eat. I think its so adorable when I ask him to go bye bye that he goes and grabs his shoes from his shoe bin and will hand them to me and sit in my lap, breaks my heart!!

Well this is his vocabulary as of now:

vroom
hi
hey
color
no
fen fi (which means french fry)
woof
buh-bye
dada
mama
night night

I cant wait for him to learn more and then be able to talk to us in sentences. We have decided that we are going to get Luckas his first hair cut next month after he gets to his family down in SD county. I am really nervous about getting it done but it will make him feel alot better this summer. I was looking at photos from february and now, its gotten much longer and fuller. We had a blast today coloring and telling him the colors he was using and just letting him have fun with different types of stuff...markers, crayons or finger paint. He was just having a BLAST! Anyways, ending with some photos of the little man:)

Dang Scanner.....

Well today wasn't such a hot smokin day as I planned it to be. Lets just say my Wednesday was already messed up when Lincoln Housing wanted to leave a little "letter" informing us that our power would be out from 0700-1700. Really freaking 10 hours to do some power stuff?!?!

So Justin didnt have to go into work till noon since he got home late last night. Which was nice since when he has off he lets me sleep in and takes care of Luckas in the morning till his morning nap and crawls back into bed with me:) I was worried about how Luckas was going to act since he watchs Blues Clues every morning. Well Lincoln like always dont hold up their end of the deal. The power didnt go out till 1030, thank goodness I was checking the mail and went through the garage (garage door was open). My neighbor runs over since her car is stuck in her garage. I ran her to her daughters one year appointment. As I was driving her to the office, I totally forgot about the emergency lock on the garage door. I could of told her about that but she was in a hurry!

I decided that Luckas and I would go out and grab lunch since I couldnt make him anything here. Have to keep the milk cold, so no fridge. We go to the park and have lunch and he plays:) Luckas gets so excited about the park whenever we go. I swear this kid is gonna love being outsite when he grows up! I can already see it. Well we come and the power is back on, Luckas goes down for a nap. I realize that our sprinklers in the front yard have been on since 10 this morning and its just waisting water. So I have to call that in to housing, I have to call and put in a ticket for my stupid smoke alarm since its beep non-stop since the power went. I took it apart and threw it in the garage. The lady to fix it finally shows up about 1530. Luckas is down for his nap, Ace is barking up a storm because she knocked. My day is already in the mud because of the amazing Lincoln Housing! I have to get Luckas' forms to his daycare provider and my amazing scanner decides to have a freaking fit and not work. I was just fed up at that point. I was wanting to grab it, rip the cords out and throw it across the room. But I didn't finally after crunch time it works. YAY:) We drop off his papers and Luckas doesnt want to leave her house. He is literally pushing me away so he can get down and play. This is going to be great when I just need to drop him off for a "drop in"! I'm excited for this new little adventure we are going to be doing when its needed! Justin came home really late than normal, but he will be gone all day Friday to the field. Just really excited for this weekend!! But now our evening as come together and it ended way better then it started..yippeeee!!

PS. Even more excited to go FISHING next month:)

♥tiffany

Cleaning & Meal Planning

So today has been a really CRAZY day for me. First thing is first, I cleaned this whole house & did the laudry then folded it which is the husbands job, haha. But I decided I would help him out and do it for him this time. I also steam cleaned our sofa which needed it really bad. Iam very impressed with myself on how much I got done. That also included running to the post office on base and sending out a package and running to the library to drop off a series. Luckas woke up cranky from both of his naps, which is the usual. But when we came down stairs from his first nap I turned on his Blues Clues, gave him his cup of milk and he was glued to the tv. I started to clean my computer desk and looked over. Saw luckas being so adorable...

And then he comes to chase after me since I have my camera♥

He was also a great littler helper with folding the laundry by dumping the white basket on the sofa over.lol He just makes me whole life worth living!!!! Anyways after I cleaned the house & finished the laundry. I saw that alot of my girlfriends have been doing this "meal planning" and thought that maybe we should try it to see if we save any money. I think that if I can plan the dinners and not worry about planning for breakfast, lunch or snacks. You have to start somewhere. But I'm really going to try this meal planning. I already starting making out what I need from the store. This should be interesting:] I will have to let you know in another blog how this "meal planning" goes in this up coming week. I have to jet off to bed, I have a work load tomorrow. Luckas has to get his chicken poxs shot.Yikes...

♥tiffany

Combat Boots & Diapers

Before I start me little ramble. I wanted to send a BIG thank you to Gayla for making the cute header for our family blog:] It fits great, thanks again.

Well Luckas is feeling so much better. I'm hoping that he wont get sick again till the winter time. Jeeze poor guy needs a little break from being sick all the time. He is finally able to, well I HAVE finally cut the cord on holding his own juice box. I'll do it when its needed but he has been doing so good doing it all by himself. He is so independent these days it makes me very sad. I just want him to stay my little boy forever, but I know that its not going to happen! He is amazes me everyday that passes with the things that he learns. We MIGHT be getting his hair cut in August when he turns 18 months because it gets really hot out here and I don't like having my long hair in the summer time, but it might change.

Today, Justin was getting ready to head to work after lunch. He was putting on his boots and Luckas came over and was trying to stick his foot in his other boot that he didn't put on yet. So Luckas started getting mad that he couldn't wear his daddys boots. So Justin took his already tied boot off and let Luckas stand in them. He tried to walk with them on but those boots are heavy. haha it was so adorable:] Justin needed to get going to he took Luckas out of his boots and started putting them on so he could head out the door. Ohhh did that tick Luckas OFFFFF. He let Justin know he was mad.haha



But it was the cutest thing to see him in the combat boots♥ melted my heart!

Until next time
♥ tiffany

Support System:]

I honestly didn't think that today was going to be that bad at all. But it started off bad when Luckas got sick yet again in his crib. Poor baby can't catch a break with catching something!! I think that its teething again because this is what happened to him last time right before his 3rd & 4th top tooth came in. But I don't see anything poking through just yet. Anyways he has been sick since thursday/friday..ugh! So that's how we started off our morning. He didn't get ANY milk today period. I couldn't deal with steam cleaning the carpet again! So I'm crossing my fingers that TOMORROW will be a better day for him and us!!

Anyways, I tried to change my ISO on my camera. I even busted out the directions on how to do it because maybe I thought I was doing it wrong (by pressing the freaking button). Nothing was working!! So I called Canon Customer Service, and the guy had the nerve to ask me if I even had my camera on (it was). He asked me how I knew it was on & I told him how I knew. We reset to factory settings and everything but nothing worked. I cant even get my DISP. frame pop up on the screen for some odd reason. I have never owned a DSLR before so I didn't know what was going on. I am still learning:] So basically the guy tells me that I have to send in my camera for repair, I almost started crying. I know it sounds dumb, but my camera is like my other baby. So I call Justin at work and tell him whats going on. He says everything is going to be okay and I might have to cancel some shoots while I get a repair. He comes home and we start talking about how I can get a rental and how I could benefit from a "back" up camera in case something happens. Just covering our bases, but he is going to be getting me another camera (which cost some $$$) so I don't have to cancel my shoots or anything. He is so supportive of my passion♥. I couldn't ask for a better husband, best friend, father of our child in the world. He wants me to be successful and follow my dream. He pushes me all the time. I'm really blessed and grateful for everything he has done for me and my passion♥ I have the best family & friends that stand behind me and keep encouraging me to keep going!! Thank you everyone, it means the world to me!!

Well off to bed since its getting late:]
♥ tiffany

Been Slacking..Sorry

We have been really busy here lately. Luckas is literally in the "go go go toddler stage". He has learned how to climb the couch and he goes over to Justins computer and stands on it. Not safe, so we literally cant keep our eyes off him for 2 seconds. He is just growing up way to fast! I took him to the water park on base and he HATED it. He is not a sprinkler man, he is more of a pool man:)We just busted out his "baby" pool from last year and he had a blast in it!! Might have to get him a little bigger one, but the pool is right down the road from us. He is learning new words all the time, but does it in his own little way. He likes to copy what you say which can be so funny. We will be in the commissary, in the frozen food section. They have polar bears on top and goes WOOOOW WOOOOW, after I just said it. He now loves to have everything we have!! Such a little stinker:)
Justin is busy with school and work so thats been his main focus, since his classes are coming on more and more. Cant wait for him to be done with school:) I have been super busy chasing after Luckas. Taking my own classes online and running OJP:) I cant express how it feels to get behind my camera lens. I cant explain it but I just get a rush when I'm taking peoples photos. And then seeing the photos come out the way they do, just makes it even better for me. I cant wait to learn more:)

Okay, well I will try to keep everyone more updated!Sorry:(

♥ tiffany

No More Sippy Cups During Naps..

Luckas is finally feeling better after his little "virus" that he caught. We never thought he was going to get better, just seemed like it was getting worse. But thank goodness he is better. We are also guess he has allergies so thats going to be fun every year with all three of us having allergies:) He is also off baby food and has been since about late February. It was more me since he didnt have that many teeth and I was worried he wasnt going to be able to eat table food regularly for 3 meals a day. So we started feeding his "big boy" food and at first he would let us feed him with no problem. Remind you there is no handbook about parenting. But the past month we thought he was going through this phase of throwing a fit in his high chair and refused to eat his food we would feed him. NOPE, he has become Mr. Independent over night and he wants to feed himself, plus do it all on his own. Kinda makes me sad that right now he doesnt want his mommy to do anything for him, but I have to remind myself this is his way of growing up. Sleeping through the night is officially a success now. He doesnt cry anymore or wake up during the night. And another bonus, we started giving him water in his sippy cup when he goes down for a nap or bedtime. We tuck him in and hand him the cup, he pushes it away or he throws it after taking a sip. We know he doesnt drink it because its the same amount that we put in. So thats a double whammy. He is talking ALOT more in his baby babble and is testing the waters like all toddlers do to get their way when they want something, so thats been fun. He is also sneaky and smart, he knows how to press the child proof locks that are on the cabinets. He can now reach the 4th shelf on the dvd rack, he knows his certain key words like buh-bye, go give your dad a kiss or are you hungry, is it time for a bath? He is just so smart:) I cant believe he is going to be 14 months this month, time is FLYING ON BY. Well thats a little update about Luckas.

♥tiffany

Apple & Sage Pork Chops

I found this recipe through McCormick it came in a little package, but you can just get this stuff on your own. I am so glad that I decided to cook this tonight.YUMMM, I hope you all will like it as much as Justin & I did:)



Ingredients:

1 1/2 McCormick Rubbed Sage
1 tsp. McCormick Minced Garlic
1 tsp. McCormick Thyme Leaves
1/2 tsp. McCormick Ground Allspice
1/2 tsp. McCormick Paprika
1 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
4 boneless pork chops (1 inch thick)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion,thinly sliced
2 red apples, thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tbsp. brown sugar

Directions:

1.MIX flour,all of the spices and salt in a small bowl.Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the seasoned flour.

2.COOK pork chops in hot oil in large skills on medium-high heat until browned on both sides.Remove from skillet. Add onions; cook and stir 3 minutes or until tender. Add apples; cook and stir 2 minutes.

3.STIR in juice, sugar and remaining seasoned flour until well mixed. Return pork chops to skillet. Bring to boil. Reduce hear to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until desired doneness.

[I cooked Alfredo Pasta with this. I thought a veggie would be a bit much but peas or green beans or whatever you prefer would be just as yummy]

ENJOY:)


♥ tiffany