Only 3 (ish) Months More Till...

Baby Aiden gets here!

I can't wait. :)

But in the meantime I am keeping myself busy with work and getting things ready! We went and registered the other night... whew, was that overwhelming! So much stuff, so many different brands and I have no idea what I really need versus what's fun or cool to have! I'd much rather receive useful items than fun (but useless) items.

Eli's cousin was very sweet and send us 2 boxes full of new or gently used baby clothing! Look at all those cute outfits!

And we got the crib! I love it! Now all we need is a mattress and bedding set!

And I found all of this baby paraphernalia at a garage sale for $5. What a steal! Burp rags, receiving blankets, hats, bibs and a couple of outfits! I think Baby Aiden will have enough cute outfits to wear. :)

God Bless,

Courtney

Porch "Garden"

Having a real garden is definitely one of the things I look forward to the most when we have a house. I just love all the colors and variety of plants! But for now I will have to be content with my "garden" on the porch. :) Somehow, over the past few years, I have accumulated several pots/planters, so I decided that this year I would put all of them to use! And I am loving it so far!

First Planter: Marigolds

Colors: French Vanilla & Inca Orange

I found this cute wood planter at Michael's for just a few dollars. I love the old fashion, worn look of it.

Second Planter: Lobelia, Mimulus & Lotus (berthelotii scarlet)

Colors: Riviera Sky Blue, Magic Blotched Mix & Parrot's Beak (orange)

I can't wait for the lotus to start blooming! They (the blooms) look so cool and funky!

Third Pot: Dusty Miller & Salvia

Colors: Vista Purple

I LOVE dusty miller and the salvia is a beautiful plant and color, so I thought the two would look great together! What do you think?

So here's my "garden". I have the whole corner dedicated to it. :) Eli was nice enough to move his grill over so I had more room to enjoy them!

From left to right: Dusty Miller & Salvia, Basil Seeds (starting to see some sprouts!), pretty yellow Violas, Wildflower seeds (also starting to see some sprouts), Marigolds, & more Basil Seeds.

I'm excited to see what wildflowers I get. My mom gave me a cute maternity shirt and the tag was made out of wildflower seed paper so that it can be planted. Great idea, huh?

Strawberries!!!! I attempted to grow some last year and didn't have much success, but I am hopeful for this year! Just planted them yesterday, so probably won't see any berries for a little bit.

22 weeks!

I guess I should be official and say 21 weeks and 5 days. Never really understood why you had to state the exact day......

Anyways, this picture was actually taken at 20 weeks, but that's pretty much what I look like now. Maybe a tiny bit bigger, but not enough to really notice.

I promised Eli once upon a time that I wouldn't post any bare belly pictures (any maternity pictures actually!) on Facebook. But this isn't Facebook so I'll post one here.... :)

For some reason maternity pictures kinda freak him out, especially awkward ones!

Aren't these adorable?!?!

I love them! I went to a pottery studio about 2 weeks with some ladies from church and had a blast painting these little vases! Yes, they're vases and I will (hopefully) use them for that purpose.

I decided to go with a jungle/safari animal theme for the nursery. These little guys were kinda my inspiration. Now to find some cute fabric for the bedding, maybe curtains and decorations for the walls!

And the little elephant matches a canvas painting my brother-in-law brought us back from Africa 2 years ago! Perfect!

In other news,

I am getting my first EVER massage next week! So excited!

God Bless,

Courtney

Baby Blanket Update

I finally finished the baby blanket I was making for Cameronn and Baby Lily! And just in time, Lily was born on Good Friday. A few weeks early, but she is healthy and cute! I have only seen pictures, but everybody says this is true!

I really liked this pattern. Super cute and pretty easy.

Now to start a blanket for our baby! I already have the yarn, just need to download the pattern!

Courtney

It's A.......

BOY!

We decided to use a cake to reveal what we're having (Thanks Gail for the wonderful idea!) and it was so much fun! Not only did our families not know, neither did Eli and I. :) I love that we were able to find out all together. We managed to get almost everyone either on the phone or there in person. Kinda chaotic, but still fun!

The cake, thanks to Amanda Cook.

I love my parent's faces in these pictures!

It's blue!!!!

Baby Aiden Liam's first presents (from Grandma & Grandpa Rushing)

Can't believe we're actually having a boy! That is what I secretly wanted all along and we got him! September cannot get here soon enough!

I do have ultrasound pictures, but not on a cd, so I don't if I'll be able to post any. But Baby Aiden looks perfectly healthy and is definitely a BOY!

Brinner: Everyone's Favorite Meal!

Brinner

(breakfast for dinner)

The classic meal, how can you not like it? Blueberry waffles, eggs, bacon and hash browns! All homemade, which of course makes it healthier, right? I like to think so. :)

Oh, don't forget the Arnold Palmer! Makes me feel very summery.

I have never made hash browns from scratch before, so I turned to my hand dandy helper, Google! Found this excellent recipe and really enjoyed it. I do love hash browns!

Hash Browns

1/4 tsp. salt

3 medium potatoes (1lb)

3 Tbsp. butter

1/8 tsp. pepper

Peel potatoes and coarsely shred them, makes about 3 cups. Rinse shredded potatoes and dry well with paper towel (or one of those cool salad spinners!) Combine the potatoes, salt and pepper. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Using a spatula, pat potato mixture into skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook about 10 minutes or until bottom is crisp. Cut into 4 wedges and turn. Cook another 8-10 minutes or until golden and potatoes are cooked.

The only problem I had was that the hash browns were a bit soggy, but either A) I didn't dry them off well enough, B) not enough potatoes to the amount of butter used, or C) my skillet wasn't big enough, therefore the mixture was too thick and couldn't cook properly. I think next time I make these I will split it up and make 2 batches. Hopefully that solves the problem!

God Bless,

Courtney

Taco Soup!

I absolutely love this dinner! Not only is it super yummy, and hopefully pretty healthy, but it also makes a lot of food! Well, for a family of 2 1/2 people it does! :)

Some of the ingredients needed.

Taco Soup

1lb. ground beef (I used ground deer)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cup water

16 oz. tomatoes

16 oz. kidney beans (I throw in whatever I have)

8 oz. tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. taco seasoning

1 avocade

Sliced olives (optional)

grated cheese (optional also!)

corn chips (or rice is also really good with this soup)

sour cream

Cook beef and onion until browned. Add water, undrained tomatoes, undrained beans, tomato sauce, seasoning and olives. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Top with avocado, cheese, sour cream and chips!

Here's what it looks like while simmering.

And the finished product! Enjoy!

Courtney