InchBug Giveaway

Have you had to scrub off sticky residue from name labels on a cup? What about having to trace a Sharpie name week after week?

About a year ago I ordered Chandler a set of Orbit labels from InchBug as well as a couple other sets for gifts.

These labels are made of a stretchy material that you can customize to label a variety of containers. One set contains 4 identical bands. You can choose from 8 different colors and up to two lines of text. Orbit labels are great for many reasons but here are a few of my favorite things.

• They are dishwasher and microwave safe. 
• They are reusable. You don't have to waste a sticker or worry about it fading after time. 
• They are easy to change from cup to cup but would be hard for kids to get off. 
• They can also fit bottles and travel snack containers. 
• You can order a generic color and customize with your last name to use them for all your children.  

InchBug has kindly offered to give away one set of custom Orbit labels! 

Giveaway Details
You can enter a few different ways.

1. Leave a comment telling us your most used or gifted baby product. You get one entry simply by commenting.
2. Share the link to this giveaway on Facebook. Then comment letting us know you spread the word to your Facebook friends. 
3. Blog about the giveaway. Come back over here and leave a comment with the link. 
4. Tweet about the giveaway and share the link. 

Contest will close Thursday at midnight and we will have a drawing on Friday, July 6 to announce the winner!

{Recipe} Chicken Tamale Pie

I found Pinch of Yum on Pinterest when I pinned this recipe for Mexican Sweet Potato Skins. I'm pretty sure every recipe on my list for the week is from this blog. I just kept clicking.


I actually haven't made the Mexican Sweet Potatoes yet but they are coming up later this week. Tonight, I made her Chicken Tamale Pie and it was amazing so I thought I'd share. We were running low on time so I just added a side of corn and my mexican-food-loving-husband had a few tortillas.


I made a few substitutions and adjustments so here is how I made it.


Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of taco seasoning, divided (somehow I missed this and used the whole thing instead of dividing it!) 
• 1 can cream-style corn
• 1 box of JIFFY corn muffin mix
• 1 small can of chopped green chiles
• 1 can red enchilada sauce
• 2 chicken breasts (seasoned meat with taco seasoning, garlic salt, and fajita seasoning)
• some shredded cheese, I used Mexican and Cheddar because I had it on hand
• cilantro and sour cream (for toppings if desired)

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400. 
2. Combine first 6 ingredients (milk to green chiles). Like I said I didn't end up dividing the taco seasoning but the original recipe has you only using 1/2 T in the mixture. Pour mix into a greased round pie plate and bake for 20-30 minutes. 
3. While the cornbread was baking I heated the skillet with some olive oil and cooked chicken until done. Instead of shredding it, I cut it into small strips. 
4. When cornbread is done, I poured it into a 9x13 pan (because my original pan wasn't big enough to hold everything). Pour enchilada sauce over the top. Top with chicken and then sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 
5. Remove and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with cilantro and sour cream. 

Wordless Wednesday

Pacifier Weaning

Chandler loved his paci. He definitely grew more attached the older he got. Around 16 months he started biting holes in the side of his paci. He would chew them so hard with his teeth that the bulb would eventually be on both sides. Once there was a hole he would just cry and cry because his paci "didn't work" any more.

We thought it was just a phase. Nope.

We kept delaying weaning because Audrey was arriving soon and honestly we didn't care if he had it but we were having to buy a new package of paci's all the time. It wouldn't be uncommon for him to bite a hole in one in just one day. He would hold it up to us and want another one.

About 4 months and 20 paci's later we decided enough is enough. As hard as it would be and as much as he loved it, we had to be done. We reached a point that we knew he had a habit of using it as a teether. One day at nap we realized the final paci had a hole in it we just told him it was broken and opened the drawer we usually kept the extras and when he didn't see any we said they were "all done". He was right at 20 months old. 

Looking back now, it doesn't seem like it was that bad of a process but we did notice a difference in the time it took him to fall asleep. He was very quick to sleep with his paci and without it he tossed and turned for a while.

May 2012 Recap

May was a bittersweet month. The end of the school year in a college town is always hard. We have to say goodbye to many relationships that we have built, some for a short time and some for years.

This year was especially hard, "my" sweet Lindsay graduated. She has spent many hours in our house talking, helping, cooking, folding, chasing kids, diaper changing, you name it. We adore her and are very sad to see her moving on. On the other hand though, May also means our life slows down somewhat. The streets get a little less busy and you can actually go to a restaurant on Friday night without expecting at least an hour wait. 

We ended our Lifegroup with a bang and had our second annual Minute to Win it games. It was a really fun ending to a great semester. Our all boy team ended up winning after a three-way tie breaker! 

As a family, we were able to go to one final Aggie baseball game with our friends, Meg and Jason. Chandler loved people watching and eating the popcorn. On Friday mornings, Cody and I set aside some time together to discuss, The Meaning of Marriage and also intentionally talk about our weeks and pray for one another. 

For Mother's Day, Cody surprised me with a digital picture frame. I came home that morning and he had it filled with a sweet message and pictures of the kids. I absolutely love it! Both sets of grandparents were able to make a visit during the month of May as well. We loved seeing them and Chandler can officially say all of their "names". One of his classic phrases is, "Oh hiiiii, <insert name here>" which is really cute. 

We also had the blessing of getting to see our dear friends, Joseph and Elizabeth get married. It has been such a neat journey to see their relationship progress and we are so excited for them! 

To finish up the month we were able to celebrate Memorial Day by spending a WHOLE day off with Cody, having a quick lunch with the Hicks, and going to a BBQ with some of our friends from Lifegroup. We are looking forward to a fun filled June! 

Audrey {3 months}

You are still so little it is hard to remember you are 3 months old! You have such a sweet spirit about you. You love to lay on the couch and watch your brother play. We joke that you are a "movement junky"... any movement can calm you down almost immediately. After we put your brother to bed, many night daddy and I just sit around holding you, talking to you, and try to see who can make you smile. You are precious little one.

Measurements: 

Weight: 9 lbs 9 oz

Diapers:

We ordered more recently and got 1's since we didn't know if she would finish another big box of newborn diapers but they are really big. Newborns still fit her the best. 

Clothes:

newborn

Schedule:

She is on the eat-awake-sleep schedule right now, eating for 30 minutes to an hour minutes, awake for 30 minutes to a hour and asleep for the rest. Most days her schedule is 7am-10am-1pm-4pm-7pm-10pm varying about 30 minutes either way. 

Sleeping: 

Usually she sleep about a hour after every feeding and about 8-10 at night. She mostly naps on her tummy and then we swaddle her for bedtime. 

Eating:

Eating has changed dramatically this month. We have had a much happier eater. Her reflux medicine has helped alot. We still have rough feedings here and there but for the most part there isn't screaming. It just seems like she takes forever to eat. 

Likes: 
Audrey likes it when you talk to her, she starts cooing back. She loves laying on the floor and looking up at the ceiling fan. 

Dislikes: 
She is pretty happy for the most part but when she is unhappy everyone will know, she is rather loud. Mostly just tummy issues are making her mad these days. 

Milestones: 

She has been smiling and cooing more and more. Her neck is getting stronger too. She has also recently found her hands and tries to suck on them when she can get them to her mouth. 

Can't remember what Chandler looked like at 3 month? Me neither, click here.

April/May Books

I haven't posted a book update since March. I have been working on the same three books for the past two months and hope to at least finish one in June!

I am currently reading Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands for a Women's event coming up at church. Our small group girls are going through War of Words this summer on Monday nights. Also, Cody and I are discussing The Meaning of Marriage on Friday mornings.

Boys Will Be Boys

A few nights ago, Cody walks in and says, "Don't freak out but Chandler fell outside and hit his head". So of course my mind immediately jumps to the worst possible injury. Thankfully, Chandler was already calm and didn't even seem bothered by his new "goose egg". 

He was playing in the garage and tripped and hit his head on the concrete. We had him lay on the couch and watch a show so we could put some ice on it (well, a bag of corn.. does that count)? 

So cute, he just laid there patiently waiting for the green light to take it off. After the video we took it off to see how it looked. 

Are you ready for this? (sorry the pictures are dark) 

I was a little nervous about what it would look like the next morning but it actually wasn't too bad. Here we are not even a week later and it is a little yellow bruise that isn't too noticeable. 

I have a feeling this is the first but won't be the last. 

Chandler's Room

Chandler's room has been a slow process since we weren't able to finish it before Audrey's arrival. Cody made his bed and repainted his dresser before she was born but it has taken us awhile to finish all the wall decor. Right now he is sharing a room with Cody's office, hints the computer and desk.

I knew I wanted to do navy and yellow in his room but wasn't sure about yellow walls. We tried to choose a light shade to avoid it looking like a highlighter (we had a bad experience when trying to paint our bathroom yellow). We were a little unsure at first but now with everything in the room we love it!

The vintage flashcards were the inspiration for the room. My cousin Alicia gave them to me as a gift when I graduated from A&M with a degree in eduation. They were her grandmother's teaching flashcards from the 1960's. I picked out my favorite boyish cards and hunted for 8x10 frames at Goodwill. Once I found all the frame we spray painted them navy and I had 8x10 matching mats cut at Hobby Lobby.

Chandler loves his books and we are always needing more storage for them so Cody made these adorable pallet bookshelves for his walls. My mom's friend gave us the old Radio Flyer wagon. I am still looking for the perfect baskets to go inside for storage. 

We also had this old timeline of the Bible poster that we loved but have had a hard time finding a frame big enough for it. When we were trying to decide what to do Cody said that he could probably make something for it. Literally 20 minutes later he walked inside with this amazing frame he just "whipped up" out of some fence scraps. He is unbelievable. 

Did you notice the bed? He made that too. Crazy. It is very sturdy and is built high enough to eventually be a trundle bed. 

Chandler definitely loves his new room and will take you by the hand to show you! 

Wordless Wednesday

Instagram Favorites (May)

Chandler {22 months}

Sweet little Chandler. Oh how you make our days go by fast. You are a busy busy boy! You hit a huge growth spurt with talking this month. You are trying to say everything you hear. You love going to Lowe's and looking at all the lawn equipment and tools. You sleep with more stuffed animals than I can count, your bed is full! You have a different night time routine with mommy and daddy but we love our special time with you. We let you choose each night who puts you to bed. Trying to soak up every moment with you. 


Measurements:

*Weighed on home scale. 

• Weight: 23.4 lbs
• Height: 33 inches

Clothes: 

• shirts: 12-18 month
• shorts/pants:12-18 month 
• pjs: 18 month 
• shoe: size 6

Sleeping: 

You are now officially down to one nap. This has helped because you are super tired for nap and bedtime but you are often so tired you can't think straight! You are napping right after lunch for about 2 hours and then sleeping at night from 8/8:30pm until 8:30/9am. 

Eating: 

You would eat fruits all day long if I let you but I think they give you a rash on your cheeks, mostly berries. You still eat them but we try to limit them amount. You eat mostly everything we eat with a few variations for spicy things. You tried shrimp for the first time this month and liked it. You really like salsa even though we try to tell you it is spicy. When we say "its hot" you just blow on it and stick it in your mouth. You love using your fork and spoon. 

New Tricks: 

Everything is blue. If you ask what color anything is, it is BLUE. 

Talking: 

You still sign lots of things but this month you really started talking. I kept a list for as long as I could and now you are repeating and saying so many things I can't keep up. You had about 10 words at the beginning of the month and now you have more than I can count. So crazy how fast this changed. 

• bye (5/3)
• go, bear (5/4)
• blue (5/6)
• dog (5/12)
• green "geen" (5/14)
• hey, hi (5/15) 
• apple "baple" (5/16)
• cow "t-ow" (5/17)
• bird, Paw (5/18)
• Buddy (his stuffed dog), Mammy (5/19)
• bike, boat, gollee (5/23)
• bubbles, Nana (5/25)
• chips, brush, thank you (5/26)
• blower boy, noodle, blueberries (5/27)
• bus, cracker (5/29)
• right back, more cracker, yum, toast (5/30)

The cutest is you saying "Heeeeey, or Hi" to people. You are overly enthusiastic about it. 

Teeth: 20, you now have all your 2 year molars. You have been chewing on everything this month! 

Likes: 

• eating popsicles in the bath
• being outside
• reading books
• helping mommy cook
• getting a "squirt" (of daddy's cologne)
• brushing your teeth

Dislikes: 

Going to nap/bed and getting your diaper changed. If we pick out a book and read you are more okay with going to sleep. You always say "no" to getting your diaper changed, good thing you don't have a choice! 

Other Random Things:

• You say "ba ba ba" for Elmo. 
• You can find your game folder on my phone by yourself. 
• You like to put things back in the proper location. 
• You love sitting and flipping through pages in books. 
• Your favorite books are The Big Picture Story Bible and The Fire Engine book.