A Little "Licht" In My Life

Happy Birthday, Alex!

2013-11-28T22:31:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe that my baby is already ONE! A whole year has gone by? Already? I feel like it was just yesterday that my sweet little boy was born.

We feel so blessed to have you in our lives. You are perfect in every way.
We love you little guy! Happy Birthday!
xo

IT'S A. . .

2012-07-24T18:03:00.002-05:00

BOY!

That's right, another boy in this family. I guess that still makes me the Princess? Or does that make me the Queen?

Here's the little nugget!

Either way, I am excited to have another baby in the house. I have to admit, I was a little sad that I wasn't able to run out and buy something pink right away. Even my sister called me before my ultrasound and said, "IF IT'S A GIRL, I AM RUNNING OUT AND BUYING SOMETHING PINK IMMEDIATELY". Pretty sure my mom was going to do the same thing! :) Can you tell that we are all DYING for some pink in this family? Well, we are still holding out hope for my brother and sister-in-law.

On to the next phase of Mommy Planning 101. We need a name. I want to name our little guy Alexander Michael Licht. Brian is not so sold on that name yet. Don't worry, he will be, come November! :)

My actual due date is December 4, 2012 (Same as my Mom's birthday) - - -BUT, I will be having another C-Section, so it looks like this will be a November baby. Jacob and ~~Alex~~ baby boy will be 23 months apart. We can't wait to meet him!

OK, so all this testosterone was really starting to get to me, so I did what any pregnant woman would do. I mixed myself a drink. A Preggatini, of course. I don't care if you are pregnant or not pregnant, this has to go on your summer drink menu! Amazing! (Great idea for a baby shower drink too)

SPARKLING CITRUS PREGGATINI

http://blog.tinyprints.com/general-information/great-mocktail-recipes-baby-shower/

Ingredients:

2-3 drops Fee’s grapefruit bitters* (optional)
2 ounces freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
1 ounce tangerine juice
Top with blood orange soda
Stirrings Tangerini® rimming sugar

Instructions: Rim a champagne flute with rimming sugar. Pour in juices, bitters and top with blood orange soda.

Cheers to Baby #2!

Oh Boy, or Girl!

2012-06-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

HELLO! This is my first time back, on my blog, after almost 3 months. I have been so sick, that I have not had the desire to go online, let alone, blog. BUT, I have some fun news to share!

We're pregnant again! Baby #2 is set to debut around the end of November. I just had my 17 week check-up, and everything sounded great.

You second time moms out there will probably agree with me when I say, this pregnancy does not get nearly as much attention as the first one does. When pregnant with Jacob, I remember going to work, logging onto my computer and stalking my email until babycenter.com posted what size fruit or vegetable my baby was. I was like WHAT?!?!?! An avocado this week? No way! How can I be this huge already if I should only look like I have an avocado in there? Well, maybe because I would come home from work and eat a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and lay on the couch until it was time to go to bed.

This pregnancy is much different. I am super active with Jacob, always running around. I am on my feet from 7am until 8pm. I had to Google, the other day, to find out how big my baby was. No more emails for me. I haven't set it up with babycenter.com that I am even pregnant again. They still think I am just chillin', with excessive energy, while playing with my toddler. I don't have time to lounge and think about what the baby is going to look like, what my delivery will be like...all these things you have time to think about with the first.

Sorry baby #2. I promise I will give you tons of attention when you arrive! :)

This is the time of pregnancy that I hate the most. Not because I am almost unable to wear my "normal" clothes, but because I am dying to find out if it is a boy or a girl. So, like any pregnant woman would do (and don't you even pretend that you haven't done this), I hop online when Jacob is fast asleep, and I take every test there is to see what I am having!

I know, I know...most of them are Wives Tales, but how much fun is it to play the game!

Here is the run down on the Wives Tales for baby #2....

What do I feel like I am having?
They always say a mother's instinct is usually correct...SO...if this holds true, I am having another boy. I just feel it. AND, every other person I know is having a boy, so why not me too. My sister just found out she is having another boy, so I should probably have one just so our kids can be BFF's! :) Seriously, what is going on with the baby boy boom? It's like one of those freaky Sci-Fi movies where only boys are being born. All the girls are killed off and there are no more possibilities for reproduction, so the world ends. OK, a little far fetched...but seriously, what's up with it? Anyway, I am holding on to my gut feeling, I think I am having a boy.

The urine test....
Apparently you can urinate in a cup of Drano, and it will turn brown if it's a boy and produce no change, if it's a girl. However, EVERY website says that the fumes can be TOXIC and DAMAGING to unborn children, so why risk it why you can buy a Gender Test for $40.00? OK, so Brian thought it was the biggest rip-off, but when the Sunday Paper got delivered and I saw that coupon for $25.00 off the Gender Test, there was no way he could stop me. It was meant to be! :) You are probably thinking, "Really Lauren, that desperate to find out? Why not wait 10 more weeks?". Because anyone who knows me, knows that is not even a possibility. I bought the test at 10 weeks. It said I was having a BOY within seconds of taking it. Looking at the testimonials, it looks like it can be considered reliable. http://www.intelligender.com/home.html

How am I carrying the baby?
I am carrying a little higher than last time. Jacob was really low, this baby is a little higher. Low baby, boy...high baby, girl.

Have I been sick?
Yes, from week 6-14 I was sick everyday, three-four times a day. Since week 14, and I am now 17 weeks, I have only been sick a total of three times. The more sick you are, odds are, it's a girl. BUT, I was sick with Jacob, too.

Is my babies heartbeat above 140?
Yes, my baby's heartbeat is 156-160, every time. They say that a boy's heartbeat is lower than 140. Not true with Jacob. He was 150 every time...BOY. BUT, if I go by this theory, then it's a girl.

Do you look amazing during your pregnancy?
Well, Brian tells me I do, but I feel like I got beat with the ugly stick. My hair is more thin than ever before, face has red marks on it, skin is super dry. Wow, I sound really hot, don't I? The Old Wives Tale is: If it's a boy, you are beautiful and glowing. If it's a girl, she sucks the beauty out of you. Well, if it's a girl, she sucked it out! If it's a boy, thanks a lot kid! :)

What kind of foods do you crave?
This one is a hard one.
Boy: Salty, Meats, Cheese
Girl: Sweets, Fruit, Juices
I love Veggie Subs, from Subway, with extra cheese. I LOVE Lay's Sour Cream and Onion Chips. However, I haven't been able to touch ANY meat (with the exception of pork (WHICH I HATE when I am not pregnant)) Well, I love bacon, but bacon is in it's own category. I don't even consider it a pork product. :) BUT, then I LOVE anything sweet (except not into chocolate this pregnancy - like I was with Jacob). I can't get enough fruit juice, fruit, sour candy, fruit snacks, popsicles. So, this is a toss up.

The ring test....
I tied my ring to a string. It went side to side. That would mean that I am carrying a girl. With Jacob it went around in a circle.

The Chinese Calendar....
Every Chinese Calendar says that I will be having a girl. It said that with Jacob too. :)

If any or all of these fun Wives Tales are true, then I will be having a girl. HOWEVER, I still think I will go with my gut (and my urine sample) and predict that I am having a boy!

What do you guys/gals think about these gender tests? Any fun stories for me? What do you think I am having?

I will get the results July 23rd. Come back and see if I need to buy pink, or if I can reuse all my blue! :)

Back To The Bathroom We Go!

2012-04-30T21:10:00.001-05:00

As promised, I wanted to show you the last of the finishing touches we put into our bathroom renovation.

While searching for towel hooks, I wanted to find something as funky as I could to liven up our plain light grey walls.

Here are some hooks that were considered... (all photos below are courtesy of: www.freshome.com)

OK, actually all of those are heinous, and I would never consider putting any of those in my house, not even in my basement. (Well, the antlers...maybe I could find a special place for those. After all, I am from Wisconsin.) But, seriously creative!

So, I decided to stick to the original plan, and go boring, but not silver or brushed nickel boring... I wanted color. Off to Anthropologie I went, the land of color and funk.

AND...I found more yellow. I really liked these though. I didn't want to have to buy 3 hooks for behind the door, I just thought that would look odd. So instead, I found these hooks, that fan out. Now I have 3-in-1. Or I guess you could say, 6-in-2? How nice is that? Jacob and I currently share a hook, and Bri-guy gets his own.

Then, I needed to finish off the space with some artwork. I didn't want the standard BRUSH YOUR TEETH sign, or WASH YOUR HANDS sign that you see in almost every bathroom. Don't get me wrong, I found plenty of them that were adorable, but I just wanted something different. I logged onto Etsy, and found some cute things...but nothing that said, "I want to stare at you, while I ~~pee~~ brush my teeth".

cisforcolor

AustinCreation's

BirthdayStudio

SO, finally, I found a place called Near and Dear (they are on etsy) that does awesome map artwork. Just an FYI, if you are my friend and haven't gotten married yet...this is your wedding present! What an awesome idea, and so simple. I should have thought of this years ago! Anyway, I love it, and it was a perfect finishing touch to the bathroom I now love SO MUCH!

H is for Hat

2012-04-20T11:57:00.003-05:00

We are big into talking in the Licht household. As most of you know, Brian and I never shut-up. So, naturally, Jacob is repeating EVERYTHING, and talking up a storm. The other day I asked Brian, "Are you ready?", and Jacob responded with, "READY MAMA!". It's funny, he is only 16 months, but I feel like he just "gets it". This is definitely the most fun I have had with him since he's been a newborn! Plus, he can't say enough to smart back to me, but can say just enough to get his point across. Why can't it stay this way forever?

Anyway, we have been doing a lot of - A is for apple, B is for ball, C is for cookie - letter/word recognition. As I was flipping through Parents Magazine a couple months ago, I came across a DIY project (see below) that I thought looked like a fun way to get the "baby vibe" out of Jacob's room, but also to help him learn more vocabulary at the same time. They had DIY chipboard letters, wrapped in yarn. Before knowing how long this would take, I had a vision that I was going to create the letter A, then have a wooden stenciled apple next to it. Then B, and have a wooden stenciled ball next to it...and so on. Yes, I was going to have the whole alphabet on Jacob's wall.

Forget that idea! After figuring out how long the whole alphabet would take to complete, I decided that one word would be just as nice as 26 letters!

photo courtesy of parents.com

Soooooo...onto my next idea. I have been wanting to put a hat rack in Jacob's room for some time now. I thought this would be the perfect way to do it. I bought a hat rack at Michael's, and bought the corrugated letters H, A & T. Say it with me, "H is for HAT!".

I knew I would have more than one hat hanging, so I had to add the letter S. I picked out bold yarn colors --- not so pastel-y, like the rest of his room. Then, I took the letters and started wrapping them, securing the loose ends with Aileen's Fabric Glue. And here's what I got:

I wanted the paint colors to somewhat coordinate with the yarn colors, so I picked out Martha Stewart's mini paints and got crafty with his hat rack. At the end, I thought, this is no fun for a kid. It was just bold colors. He needed more to look at.

Jacob loves balls, and I thought this would be a great way to introduce him to sports. Now we are learning the difference between balls. Basketball is buuuskeeeebail. Football is Fooobull. You get my drift. Eventually, he'll get it, right? :)

I had all that paint leftover, so I decided to go buy a few frames at Michael's, and paint them to coordinate with the letters. Here's what I came up with:

Still need to find some pictures to fill those frames up with!

All in all, I had a fun time with this project. Never mind it taking me a month and a half to finish...but believe it or not, those letters take a good hour or two if you want them to look right. I did H & A on our drive to Wisconsin, for Easter...and did T on the drive back. S was finished in between Bethanny Ever After and The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Totally cute update to Jacob's room for less than $100.00 (those darn frames are what cost me).

Here are some other cute/creative ideas for yarn letters:

photo courtesy of randomanderson.wordpress.com
Cute for a little baby room...although, those paper circles hanging are not very practical. I know Jacob would pull those suckers right off.

photo courtesy of: ontobaby.com
Even incorporate them into a baby gender reveal party! Which by the way, this is seriously the most adorable party ever. I will totally copy this idea for the next shower I throw!

photo courtesy of Nap Time Crafters - nametimecrafters.com
Something I am going to try out for Halloween - would look adorable on the fireplace mantel .

photo courtesy of: handicraftsguide.blogspot.com
How cool would this be in a kitchen, right above a kitchen table?

Photo Courtesy of: theviolethours.typepad.com
And with all those yarn leftovers, why not wrap a few gifts. Wow, the world of yarn is endless! Who knew?

Happy Easter

2012-04-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

Why I Love Easter...

Daffodils and Jelly Beans, all rolled into one!

photo courtesy of: http://www.fun-tea-party-ideas.com/images/easterdeco3.jpg

Spring Flowers....beautiful!

Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs (I can seriously eat a dozen in one sitting)

photo courtesy of: www.southernsavers.com

Peeps! Even better when they are left out overnight!

photo courtesy of: www.makeandtakes.com

Who doesn't love butter sculptures?

photo courtesy of: www.flickr.com

Easter Egg Trees

photo courtesy of: www.marthastewart.com

A Delicious Ham - full of salty goodness

photo courtesy of: www.myrecipes.com

Love those Easter Egg Hunts - especially now that Jacob can enjoy them!

photo courtesy of: www.marthastewart.com

But, most of all, I love Easter because Easter is the day when we celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead. Jesus gave His life to die for our sins. Easter is a reminder that all of the things I just listed above really are the small things in life. We have so much more to look forward to! What a wonderful feeling to have. Happy Easter to you all!

What's For Breakfast?

2012-03-28T13:08:00.000-05:00

I love that every morning, before Brian leaves for work, he says, "what should I eat for breakfast"? It's become something I just expect from him, along with my goodbye kiss - of course. :) I mean, he pretty much knows that an egg, bacon, and pancake buffet is never going to happen before 8:00am. So, what does he expect?

He gets so overjoyed when I tell him that along with his Greek Yogurt, (which he seriously takes to work EVERYDAY) I got him Pop-Tarts, Toaster Strudels or Cereal Bars.

SIDE NOTE: My mother-in-law is probably cringing, or crying at this right now. . .saying, "Awww, bless her little heart for trying, but she will never give him the breakfasts that I gave him". His mom makes bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes and fresh squeezed orange juice every morning for us when we go to visit. Don't worry Linda, I am giving him excellent lunches and dinners to make up for it! :)

Anyway, I got sick of buying "crap" for breakfast. I know it's not good for either of us. Of course, my mind went right to Pinterest for healthy breakfast ideas. I found a recipe by Smashed Peas and Carrots, called No-Bake Energy Bites. I figured, since Brian is always coming home at lunchtime, saying, "I AM SO TIRED" he needed the energy. AND, I love that it is no-bake. Anything that says "no-bake" is my best friend.

I took the recipe from Smashed Peas and Carrots, and I modified it a tad bit.

No-Bake Energy Bars

Recipe: Slightly adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots

3 packets of Low-Sugar Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal

1/2 cup of all-natural peanut butter (we make our own at a local grocery store)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, and an extra handful to sprinkle on top

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything together in a medium bowl, until incorporated. Put a layer of parchment paper in an 8x8 dish. Empty mixture into the dish. Press firmly, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top (use a spoon to press them into the mixture). Let the bars chill in the refrigerator for up to an hour.

Then, cut into small squares, and serve! They stay good for up to a week, in an airtight container. (I am too lazy to roll them into balls, as the original recipe calls for...but I am sure they taste just as good cut up into a square!)

Brian is so thrilled about this new breakfast I have for him. He "pre-tasted" a bar yesterday, and thought it was amazing. I am thinking how wonderful this is going to be. All I have to do is mix these ingredients together on Sunday night, and package them in little baggies. Then, he is good to go for the whole week, with yogurt in tow, of course!

Give these a try! It is such a healthy way to start the morning. And, BONUS, these are chocked full of natural energy - none of that Monster/RedBull junk. Feel free to add other ingredients, and get creative with the recipe! Nuts, raisins, dried fruit...that all sounds like a pretty delicious way to start your day!

Home Sweet Home - In The Bathroom, That Is

2012-03-23T12:38:00.035-05:00

Don't you always feel better in your own bathroom? I know for me, even if we stay at a really nice hotel, I am still like, "ewww...other people (with planters warts and toe fungus) have stepped foot in this shower"! AND YOU KNOW those maids aren't scrubbing with 409 Antibacterial Foam. Oh no they're not! It's some concoction, with a Water to Mr. Clean ratio of 99-1. Or, I think about all the people that sneeze (or worse) and touch the knobs on the sink...and like before, the maids aren't using Lysol Wipes to clean up after them. They are using the same rag that they used in rooms 209-229 to clean off those knobs. GROSS! I'm sorry if you have never thought of this before, but now you will. I have completely ruined your future hotel stays.

This is an actual hotel bathroom in Budapest. OMG! RUN!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ReviewPhotos-g274887-d285439-r68621846-Alfa_Hotel_Fiesta-Budapest.html#25988933

Well, even my bathroom downstairs was starting to feel like a hotel (not like the one above, though). I knew it was clean, because I clean it...but it just wasn't MY bathroom upstairs. But, now I am home at last. Home Sweet Bathroom Home!

Basement bathroom- so hard to say goodbye to you...wink wink

I know, you are probably wondering why I don't use the basement bathroom all the time. It is really nice, clean, and updated. There is more room, and there is a bigger area to get ready in. Well, let me tell you why. It's cold in the wintertime...why even bother to shave, because when you get out, hair

is back within seconds. And, in the summertime, it is too humid/damp, why even bother washing your hair, it's already wet from sweating (Oh So Nasty).

For the past 3 months, I have had to shower, brush my teeth, and wash my face in the basement bathroom. While it's a good leg workout, (going up and down the stairs) and I know I have stair stepped at least 200 calories off my bod... I'm tired. I just want to walk around the corner from my bedroom, and do my business. That's just general bathroom talk - no pun intended.

SO...it happened. It actually happened. My amazing, talented, and handy husband finished - well, almost finished, the bathroom. We still have a few loose ends that we need to tie up, but they are so minor, you won't even find them in the pictures below.

Remember, this is what it looked like before?

AND NOW...Check out the pics of the finished bathroom, below.

Still not sure which one I am going to use as the accent towel. Looking for a big, dark grey, plush towel for underneath one of these lucky guys who will be proudly displayed in the Licht's bathroom! :) TOWELS -www.westelm.com TOWEL BAR - www.target.com

My first medicine cabinet, and I AM LOVING IT! It holds so much that I used to clutter my sink top with. MIRROR: www.kohler.com YIKES, I need to take an iron to my curtain, don't I?

Let's take a look inside of you. Oh, you are so spacious! Trust me, I've since filled her up! We didn't add this cabinet to just hold toothbrushes and hairspray!

Isn't this light fixture luxurious? LAMP/LAMPSHADE: www.lowes.com

Just another view, isn't she a beauty?

Updated light switch plate. Hey, it beat the plastic beast we had before. PLATE: www.target.com

My hotel shower, minus the warts and toe fungus!

Couldn't do anything about the window, so we figured we'd keep on giving the neighbors a show! :)

Love the look of marble, it feels so clean. Our tub was re-glazed for just under $400. - saved us about $1000, vs. putting in a new tub. MARBLE: www.lowes.com (approx. 400 pieces) PAINT COLOR: BEHR - Gentle Rain (www.homedepot.com) SHOWER CURTAIN: www.westelm.com

Updated knobs to match our original door knobs. 1920's glass door knobs. KNOBS: www.target.com

TRASH CAN: www.target.com TOILET PAPER HOLDER: www.target.com

VANITY: www.restorationhardware.com

I wanted matching brushed nickel faucets...easier to cover up water stains! Hey, whatever works, right? I'm a busy mom! :) SINK/SHOWER FAUCETS: www.lowes.com (MOEN)

AND, THIS IS IT

RUG: www.westelm.com FLOOR TILE: Hampshire Slate 16x16-cut to 8x16 www.homedepot.com

WHITE CABINET: www.target.com
TOILET: www.kohler.com ---comfort height...oooh lala!

See this empty space? I have ordered something on Etsy.com to finish off the decor. Pictures to come! And, we still need two towel hooks for behind the door. Just haven't found any that scream, "HANG A TOWEL ON ME".

Are you inspired to renovate a room in your house? Now that we've done our bathroom (minus having to touch up/buy a few things yet) I am already wondering what room to do next? Basement laundry room? I have a vision for that...who knows what will pop up next! I am sure my hubby can't wait to hear my next request! Happy Friday to you guys!

Bathroom Remodel - DIY

2012-03-08T23:08:00.000-06:00

Since the Packers have been off TV for a few months, my dreams about Clay Matthews have stopped.

Yes, this is him...sigh

Look at those highlights...ugh, enough to make a girl jealous!

How I picture him on our wedding day

Our cake topper

Perfect for little Matthews

Yes, this is the dream I gave up, to dream about a bathroom remodel...(once again, sigh...)

I have now started dreaming about more realistic things, like, my husband finishing the "honey do" list. The list is quite long, but, let's face it...I'm worth it. :) I know my hubby would agree with that. I just know it!

The first thing on the list was to redo the bathroom, aka, the closet with a loo (spoken with a British accent). While we couldn't do anything about the size of the bathroom, we decided to just make it look nice so that people would feel.... ummmm....comfortable in there? :) The bathroom is original to the 1920's bungalow home that we live in. It is small, cramped, but has so much character. Can a bathroom even have character? I don't know?

SO, let the tear down begin...

The way it was before

Ewwww, you should have seen the mold he encountered

Mold, mold and more mold.

All cleaned up, and cement board was screwed in

And the marble goes up. We had to buy about 400 pieces of tile to complete the shower.

Brian spaced the tiles 1/16 of an inch apart, which was tedious work.

Doesn't it look better already?

The vanity came out, and our bathroom looked HUGE

Naturally, underneath two layers of tile and linoleum, was the original marble tile (basket weave-which is so hard to do, and very uncommon nowadays) with a green accent color. Too bad it didn't work with my design scheme.

Kind of would have looked cool, had my new accent color been green.

So hard to say goodbye to my old crapper

The guy came to re-glaze our tub today. I came home and saw this set up in our bathroom. I instantly thought that I was living out a Dexter episode

Thank God for ventilation. I was already concerned that Jacob had become high from the fumes, due to his 3 hour nap.

You know, it's amazing...Brian told me that he could knock this project out in a month...AND I BELIEVED HIM! 2 months later...

Every night that Brian came home from work, he'd do a little bit more, and a little bit more...and I actually started to realize that I missed him. I missed just laying around on the couch, watching our trashy shows together, eating late night ice cream, and getting my feet rubbed (yes, he actually rubs my feet every night...well, did until the bathroom reno came along) Brian has been in the bathroom for two straight months, and it's gotten so bad that Jacob actually walks to the bathroom during the day saying, "daddy?". I have to explain that daddy is at work, at his other job. So, all in all, I think we will all be happy when this is over!

Brian is still working on the bathroom, but we can't wait to share the final results! Should be done soon! We had a man come to our house today to re-glaze our bathtub. Then, next week, we have a painter coming to paint our walls. That should pretty much wrap it up! I can't wait to have my ~~husband~~ ~~bathroom~~ foot rubs back!

Growing Up Too Fast

2012-03-07T20:07:00.001-06:00

I can't believe my little boy is almost 15 months. Where has the time gone? Here are just a few photos of my little love, from the past couple months.

There's nothing like a sleeping baby.

Saturday morning fun!

Saturday morning fun also entails eating Kleenex.

My Little Farmer

Always has a smile on his face

Hmmm...can you guess what he is looking at? Hint: TV!

Doesn't he look like daddy in this picture?

Teaching him early the proper form of mowing the lawn

Sweet Boy

He's not Irish, but I'd still kiss him! (btw, I was just on a walk in the WIND...which would explain my look - don't judge)

Look at those thighs! I want to eat them!

It's Not Stew, It's Ragu

2012-03-01T11:17:00.000-06:00

Like how I am paying homage to my girl, Martha, by keeping her signature "Robin Egg" color on my page (totally clashes with the rest of my blog)? I love Martha! I have loved her pretty much my whole life. My nickname is even Martha Jr.  I have been getting her LIVING magazine for years, and Everyday Food Magazine for about a year now. Seriously the best magazines...well, besides my weekly Holy Bible, US Weekly. Everyday Food has never let me down. I am always able to get at least 5 recipes out of the monthly issue that my husband loves. Jacob will eat anything, so I don't really go to him for an opinion yet. :)

Anyway, while flipping through this months issue, I was looking for some easy crock-pot recipes. Don't you love waking up in the morning, throwing 5 ingredients in the crock-pot, going about your biz all day, and then coming home to a wonderful smelling home of beef, onions and garlic (hmmm a questionable scent, I prefer my Mulled Wine Illume Candle).  Well, this recipe, Slow-Cooker Beef Ragu, is about as easy as it comes. I was trying to impress my hubs by telling him I was making him Ragu (spoken with a very hot and sexy Italian accent). He's like, "Laur, that's just a fancy way of saying beef stew". I was seriously insulted!
Regardless, he went back for seconds, need I say more!

Beef Ragu

Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine - Slow-Cooker Beef Ragu      Barely adapted by: littlelichtinmylife.blogspot.com

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 8 oz tomato paste (original recipe calls for 6 TBS. JUST DUMP IT ALL IN, great tomato taste)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves (or 3 teaspoons dried)
1 round roast (4 pounds), (original recipe calls for beef chuck roast - I think round roast has better texture/flavor)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Directions

In a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker, combine onion, garlic, tomato paste, and oregano. Season roast with salt and pepper and place on top of onion mixture. Add 2 cups water, cover, and cook on high until meat is tender and can easily be pulled apart with a fork, 4 1/2 hours (or 9 hours on low). Let cool 10 minutes, then shred meat in slow cooker with 2 forks and stir in vinegar to taste.
I made wide egg noodles in a seperate pot, because I didn't have time to do the fried noodles (GIVE ME A BREAK, it was GIRLS NIGHT - picking out an outfit seemed far more important than clogging my hubby's arteries!) BUT, if you have the time to fry them... then, after boiling the noodles, put them in a skillet, with a chunk of butter, and fried those babies up until crispy! Finally, scoop a heaping pile of Beef Ragu over the noodles. SO GOOD! SO EASY! ENJOY!

Easy Breezy Beautiful CoverGirl, and so much more!

2012-02-24T23:17:00.000-06:00

I have always been a simple girl at heart. Never one for trendy make-up, just always liked the plane Jane natural colors...hmmmmm sounds kinda like my wardrobe. Daring, I'm not! When I buy make-up, I always end up spending a lot of money, but getting "the best quality". You know, allergy-free, not tested on animals, all-natural ingredients... blah blah blah.

Well, I stepped outside the box last weekend when I was left no other choice. We were at a wedding on Captiva Island, Florida, with a limited choice of shopping plazas. CVS and Walgreens were my choices. So, we hit up the local CVS and hunted down something -oh so important- that I had left at home....~~my child~~ MASCARA! I bet some of you are having a panic attack just imagining this! What's a girl to do without her beloved mascara? Oddly enough, this was my ~~make-up~~ wake-up call. I have been spending way too much dinero on mascara, it appears. For $28 you can get a trusty mascara that will plump and clump those lashes into looking like the girl next door.

pic courtesy of readjunk.com

However, for $8.79 you can get mascara from CoverGirl that will make you look like one of the Girls Next Door.

It is volume lasting CoverGirl, in black. Love it! Just as good as any high-end name brand mascara. My hubby even liked it. I mean, I had to fish for the compliments, like blink at him 20 times for him to finally ask, "Do you have something in your eye, sweetie?" Ummmm no! I am just rockin a new mascara! Obvi! - yes, I just said obvi.

AND, this just in. Apparently, last week, Sunday, February 19th, there was a $1.00 OFF coupon in the newspaper. It is good for any CoverGirl product. Imagine that, mascara for just 8 bucks. I encourage you to try it. Like I said, I was a make-up diva for life, until this one fateful day. If you are always looking for ways to switch up your look, but don't think you can ditch the designer name, think again ladies!

Some other goodies to report:

It's never too early to buy a dish towel that you'll use in the fall- www.studiopatro.com Use coupon code spring10 at checkout...and you can score some awesome new dish towels, like I did, for a great price!

I found the most adorable puzzle that also can be transformed into an educational dining experience. It's from a store called A+R Store - under the "kidding" section. www.aplusrstore.com This will help Jacob to remember which side the fork goes on. Don't you always question that when you are setting the table for a dinner party? I know I do. Oh, and if you spend $100 dollars, it's free shipping. And let me tell you, it's not hard to spend a hundy when you're on this site!

No time to wash your hair? This product is AMAZING! Seriously, better than Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder or Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder. It's called Keratin Complex Volumizing Dry Shampoo Lift Powder for Blondes. It is about $35.00 and worth EVERY penny. www.keratincomplex.com Don't worry you non-blondies, there's some for you too!

I love a good buy! Until next time...

You're One Of A Kind, Valentine

2012-02-14T22:23:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had to put on my creative hat. I knew I wanted to make a Valentine this year. You know, Pinterest is so inspiring, it almost makes you feel guilty if you don't do anything for every holiday. I took a look on Pinterest, but couldn't really find anything that was "me". Then, I received an email from Peartreegreetings.com (one of my favorite stationary/card websites) and it had great ideas for Valentine's. However, my hubby said N-O to buying Valentines. He said, why are you spending more money on a card, when you just sent one out for Christmas...the baby hasn't changed in two months. OK, he soooooo doesn't get me sometimes! Duh, I needed a project! So, I decided it was time to get creative, and create one. I had a vision, from Pear Tree, so it was time to go on my treasure hunt and collect my goodies.

I got the idea of making my own envelope inserts, from my sister-in-law, Katie. Awhile back, she made me personalized stationary, and I loved how she made the inserts, so I did my own version. I got thrifty. I visited the Dollar Store. Did you know the Dollar Store sells Reynolds Tin Foil and Saran Wrap for $1.00? I just paid $4.50 EACH at The Blue Goose for those suckers. Maybe I will have to start looking at their Sunday Flyer, before I do my "REAL" shopping. Anyway, I saw some heart shaped doilies, chocolate foil wrapped lips, and lots of other "stuff" that I DIDN'T NEED. I grabbed the doilies, and the lips, and dashed.

Next stop, Michael's Craft Store. I could spend hours there. But, since I was with a child, I only had 10 minutes MAX. I grabbed some scrap booking red-dotted paper, blank white envelopes, heart doily stickers (thank you Martha Stewart Collection), and some XO felt stickers.

Last but not least, I stopped at a local paper shop, and bought 50 pieces of card stock, which was already cut into 4x6. Phew, because I really didn't feel like doing that!

Here's how I broke it down:

All the supplies

Start with a plain, white envelope

Stuff a doily in the envelope, upside down

Cut out a triangle shaped accent paper

Start the gluing process

Keep gluing

Add a cute sticker

Stick on some chocolate lips for a truly sweet kiss

Sending a big smooch to you!

AND, Voila! It's a homemade Valentine!

One thing I messed up on...I didn't get the Valentine weighed before I sent it. I took all 48 Valentine's to the post office, and the lady said, your total is ...Are you ready for this??? $100.00. They were going to charge me almost $2.00/Valentine. I stuffed them back inside my bag, put my head down, and walked out to my car. I had to get creative again. The lips were what was weighing it down, and the felt "XO" letters were an extra .20. I pulled off the lips, and put them in a dish for me to eat...and peeled off the felt letters, and put them on the back of the card. There, problem solved...and I slapped a good old forever stamp on those babies, and sent them out.

We definitely had a great Valentine's Day.

My little Valentine

Benjamin and Chloe, just Chillin'

Grandpa loves his boys

So mad! But I still love that face!

Bragging & showing off all his Valentine's!

We made these for Daddy, while he was at work!

OK, I made the strawberries, while Jacob colored on this piece of paper

Best friends

Always on the go!

Smile

Both doing our "kissy" face

Now thanks to the 2.00 postage fee, I will enjoy all these chocolates tonight!

SPOILER ALERT - Exclusively for you, Bachelor Fans

2012-02-01T22:04:00.000-06:00

It's not considered cheating if...I only visit him once a week? We never say anything to each other? He doesn't even know my name?

Phew...thank goodness! Then, I don't have to tell Brian about Steve, Reality Steve, that is. http://realitysteve.com/ I love him. He gets right to the nitty gritty, and predicts every season for me, so I don't have to! Anyone that knows me, knows that I hate surprises.

"OMG, you watch reality tv AND you have a cute dog? I think I'm in love!"

So, I love The Bachelor. That's no secret. I have watched all 16 seasons. I was there for Trista and Ryan's "I Do's", there for Molly and Jason's wedding, and I am always there for my girls during their break-ups. That's dedication, folks.

So, every Monday, after the show airs, I go to realitysteve.com and I fight to get online. I say I fight, because I can never get online right away, everyone else is trying too. Looks like I am not the only one visiting Steve, late, on Monday nights!

I read all the latest buzz on what Reality Steve has to say about each contestant. He is pretty brilliant. He befriends people that are close with the contestants on the show. Somehow, he sucks all the information out of them...sucks them dry...and gets all the gossip. So far, he has nailed all the seasons. If you don't want to know the outcome of Ben's Season, season 16...stop reading now!

But, if you want to know, here's the scoop...this is it...straight from the horse's mouth!

"Episode 11: (In Switzerland, Lindzi Cox vs. Courtney Robertson)
-The final rose ceremony took place Wednesday, November 16th at a location on the mountain called Sunnegga, with the Matterhorn as the backdrop. Here is a pic to kind of show you the area:

As you can see, it’s pretty high up, and both girls arrived at the final rose ceremony via helicopter.
So with Lindzi Cox and Courtney Robertson to choose from, who did Ben choose? The easy going, horse riding chick, or the girl with the potty mouth that seemed to be disliked by the others in the house and went skinny dipping with him in Puerto Rico? Naturally, Ben went with his head.
Ben got engaged to Courtney Robertson in Switzerland, and is still engaged to her today (Yes, he went with THAT head).
I’m sorry, but this is utterly hilarious to me. Yes, this girl is engaged to Ben:

________________________________________________________
The girl that is an international model/actress, who once dated D-lister Jesse Metcalfe and was his date to the 2005 Emmys (as shown above), the one girl that you can tell from the promos none of the other girls like and probably questioned her sincerity is now engaged to the guy who admittedly said his wine business took off after his appearance on Ashley’s season, who made a “Cream Dream” music video about wet dreams where he was squirting lotion all over the place, was also briefly hanging out/seeing Britt Billmaier from Brad’s season, then had a little fun with Jennifer Love Hewitt six weeks before filming this show? Really? Fifteen previous seasons of the “Bachelor” and not one of the leads has ever gotten married to the final girl he chose in the end. Ummmmm, I think it’s safe to say we should already make that 16 straight seasons of the “Bachelor” that won’t produce a marriage. C’mon people. The guy chose the girl he lusted over and there is not a single chance in hell these two will ever get married. Period. End of story. But it sure will be a hell of a lot of fun making jokes at their expense. By the way, Ben appeared on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show this morning and admitted he had dinner and a date with JLH in August. Funny. Back when the news broke and JLH went on Seacrest’s show to talk about the rumor, she said she randomly happened to be at the same bar he was at and there was no date whatsoever and it was completely coincidental. That should pretty much tell you all you need to know about what happened that night. Ben’s essentially bragging it happened. She is denying it. They can’t even match their stories up. (Her exact quote to Seacrest back on Aug. 17th, “we just happened to be in the same place at the same time.” Uh huh. Not when Ben said, sweetcakes. Here’s a link to the full interview JLH did with Seacrest).
Hey wait! I got it! Best idea I ever had. Since Ben and Courtney have each spent some quality time with D-listers, how about Ben calls up Jennifer Love Hewitt, Courtney rings up good ol’ Jesse Metcalfe, and they can play matchmaker? I mean, JLH just had another guy dump her, and last time I checked, Jesse Metcalfe doesn’t seem to be busy these days. It’s perfect! A match made in heaven. Hey, since Ben and Courtney have no chance of ever getting married, why not at least use their resources and see if JLH and Jesse hit it off. Or is Jesse already one of JLH’s 100 Hollywood ex-boyfriends that I completely forgot about? Whatever the case, I really think they should take me up on my idea. Thank me later. Wow. ABC is gonna have a hell of a time trying to sell this final couple to their audience.
Look, I’m sure Courtney is as sweet as pie, and Ben seems like a decent guy, but seriously people, lets take off the blinders and see exactly what’s happening here. Courtney is on the show to promote her career, and now being engaged to Ben, do you realize how much more publicity she’s gonna get, how many more magazine covers she’ll be on, and how many more TV appearances she’ll get out of this? Whatever plan she had when applying for this show worked. She should probably cut her agent another 5% for probably booking her on this show. I’m guessing Courtney wasn’t sitting alone at home dateless looking for something to do, saw that Ben Flajnik was gonna be the “Bachelor”, and ran to her computer to fill out an application in hopes that she could one day be his future ex-fiance. Call me crazy. As for Ben, he gets an 11 week commercial for his winery, he’s got a woman completely out of his league looks-wise to prance around to all the tv shows and magazines once the finale airs, and he got to show his butt on national tv. Seems like he wins all around. The show is the same exact thing every season except with different cast members. This season will be no different." - told by RealitySteve

There, now we all know what happens. Why am I still suckered in, even when I know they won't work out? I don't know, but it sure makes for some good Monday night drama!

A Mexi-CAN'T Miss Meal

2012-01-27T11:13:00.000-06:00

So, as many of you know, I LOVE FOOD! Hmmmm, is that what landed me on WW? When I see a recipe, I don't mess around...that sucker is what we havin' for dinner! I am a lover of The Cheesecake Factory. Say what you will peeps, I know it's a chain, but that's some dang good food! Portion sizes...AMAZING! Hello? Who else serves you a piece of cheesecake the size of a small child, and doesn't judge when there is nothing left?

In our house, on Tuesdays, I love doing Taco Tuesday. It's easy, it's delicious, and it ain't nutritious. But, this week, after seeing this recipe, I thought, "why not mix it up a little"?

http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

This recipe, that I made for dinner the other night, comes straight from The Cheesecake Factory...but with a twist. RANDOM THOUGHT: Don't you always feel like the first time you make a recipe, it takes you 3 hours because you have to go back and re-read every step three times just to make sure you're doing it right? Well, this is one of those recipes. Let's just say, I started this recipe at 3:30, after I put Jacob down for a nap...and when he woke up 2 hours later, I was still working on it. Brian came home from work around 7:00, right as I was pulling the steak off the grill. Using a grill in 30 degree weather just isn't the same as a warm summer night, btw. END OF RANDOM THOUGHT

Ok, so this recipe is off the appetizer menu from The Cheesecake Factory. Remember those Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes? Well, I sure do...and I must say, my way tastes just as good, but is WAAAAY healthier.

Corn Cake Pancakes

Makes about 10 medium cakes

2 cups frozen yellow corn kernels, thawed

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tbsp sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp skim milk

Dump 2 cups of thawed corn into a food processor and pulse until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky. If you don't have a food processor, substitute with 2 cups of canned creamed corn. Makes clean-up a lot easier, too!

Transfer the pureed corn to a large bowl.

Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and pepper to the corn. Mix well.

Add the lightly beaten eggs and milk, and stir to combine.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with nonstick spray. (I might have killed this low-fat concept by adding olive oil to the pan, instead. SOOOO much better that way!)

Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of batter into the hot skillet. Cook the cakes 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown.

Avocado Salsa
Makes about 2 cups

2 large tomatoes, diced

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lime

salt and pepper to taste

1 avocado, pitted and diced

Mix all of the ingredients (except the avocado) together in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Then, just before serving it up, add the avocado and mix carefully. You don't want to mash the avocado too much! If you want, to make it as close as The Cheesecake Factory Recipe as possible, drizzle a small amount of sour cream over your final product. To thin it out, so it drizzles easily, all you need to do is add a little water to your sour cream.

I made the salsa first, and then the corn cake pancakes. I did it in this order, so the cakes were crispy and warm, for serving.

Earlier in the day, I marinated some skirt steak, that I had picked up from Fresh Market, to serve with the Corn Cakes. As Rachel Ray would say, YUMMO!!!

Carne Asada

2 pounds skirt steak

Salt and black pepper

Marinade:

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, leaves and stems are fine

salt and black pepper

2 limes, squeezed for juice

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and Pepper each side of the flank steak. Mix all remaining ingredients together, and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 hours. Then, all that's left is to grill it up! Always cut skirt steak, or flank steak, for that matter, across the grain, diagonally.

This was my final product. So delicious!

TAKE THAT, TACO TUESDAY!

Every party has a pooper....and it's not me!

2012-01-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

While I know the ladies I went out with the other night would beg to differ, I swear to you, I am a party animal! Just because I wanted to go home at 11:30, on a Friday night - rather than go to another bar - doesn't make me an old lady, does it? Afterall, I am tired from all the parties that 2012 has brought us already!

Parties, Parties, and more Parties. That's how most of our January has gone so far. We started off with a very fun New Years Eve get together. Our backyard neighbors, Steve and Lindsay, decided to have a fondue party. They invited 3 other couples, and their babies. We each have a child between the ages of 7 months and a year, all boys. It was so nice knowing that I could just walk home after the "ball dropped" rather than get in a car and drive home. Is it pathetic that I hope all my New Year's Eves can be like that? Or is that a sign of just getting older and getting more mature? Either way, we stayed out until 12:30! YES, 12:30. Can you believe it? Normally, Brian and I are in bed by 11:00. This extra hour and a half really threw us off the following day! :) Oh wait, did I say us? I meant, Brian...it threw Brian off. I was up at 7:30am, playing with Jacob, while Brian slept in until 9:00am. Ahhhh, the life. I forgot how that feels.

After we ate our fondue, (Melting Pot, you have nothing on us!) we all settled in to watch the ball drop, and attempted to play a game (which resulted in reading the instructions, and taking this awesome picture) but never actually played.

Needless to say, it was perfect, just being together with good friends, our babies, and a lot of champagne! :)

Baby Ethan.

Jacob was stealing some of Ethan's food, go figure.

Declan is such a sweet boy.

Steve, Kristen, and Paul

Look at those 3-D Love Birds.

Steve, way to ruin the picture.

Our Pre-New Year's Eve kiss.

There's nothing like a good friend.

The fine Champagne we toasted to at midnight

Brian turned 35, on January 6th. Wow, he is almost 40! He LOVES when I say that, so I just wanted to remind him again! :) 40! Now that will be a party! Anyway, I was pretty tired from Christmas, New Year's Eve, and all the clean-up that Christmas entails, so we did a low key party with just the three of us. We had cake & ice cream, and Brian opened his present. That's it! So simple. Brian loved it, and he loved his gift. Jacob and I got him a "big boy" suitcase. He travels so much, and he never had a really nice suitcase. Now, he has the same one that the flight crew uses. (Oh wait, what was that Brian??? Oh he wants you to know it is nicer than the one the flight crew uses. Oh, ok let's really rub it in...) He feels so special, and so sophisticated!

The Big 3-5

Blow daddy, blow!

The beloved suitcase

On to the next party. I decided to host a pre-wedding celebration for my neighbor, who just got married last weekend. I don't know if I ever decided on the actual name of the party. Bachelorette?...no, because there were no strippers involved... Bridal Shower?....no, because it wasn't all sweet and fluffy....so we settled with "THE FLING BEFORE THE RING". I had invited about 12 of the neighbor ladies over for desserts and champage cocktails. About 8 showed up. We partied hard! We partied so hard that we went through ALMOST 2 bottles of champagne! :)

Even though we had all been neighbors for many years, nobody
really knew each other that well.

So, rather than trying to get to know each other by spying through the windows at night, we actually dished our juicy gossip face to face. Scary, but we all knew each others routines. One neighbor even saw what Brian and I were watching one night. For any of you "HUNG" fans...imagine what it looked like to a 50 year old woman who has never seen the show! Porn in the Licht house? I THINK NOT!

I made some desserts for the NYE party and the Fling b4 the Ring party that WILL be made again. Here are some of the super easy to make recipes...and they were a hit!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/03/30/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-truffles/

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

http://52cupcakes.blogspot.com/2009/07/martha-stewarts-cookies-and-cream.html

S'mores Bars

http://www.bakedperfection.com/2008/07/smore-cookie-bars.html

The woman that I threw the "FLING BEFORE THE RING" party got married last weekend, to Ralph. It was a wonderful wedding. Ralph and Pat couldn't have been happier. The same pastor that married Brian and me, married Ralph and Pat. The ceremony was so special, and I don't think there was a dry eye in the church.

Afterwards, we went to a reception venue to get our party on. We danced and danced--all night. Even Brian was out there doing the "White Man Overbite", and the "Shopping Cart". Sorry, no video attached...just use your imagination. Move over Usher!

Neighborly fun!

The Sunday, after the wedding, we went to my godson's birthday party. He turned 2! My sister did an amazing job of putting his Sesame Street themed birthday party together. On the menu? She put together a taco bar, and it was perfect for watching the Packers ~~WIN!~~ lose. :( So sad, our amazing season had come to an end. BUT, my little nephew, Benjamin, could have cared less! Watching him enjoy all of his new toys, almost made us forget how poorly the Packers played.

This past weekend, we flew out to Arlington, VA. We attended the most important party of all. It was for the baptism of our niece, Avery Williams Licht. Brian has a twin brother, Jason...and this is Jason's little girl. The baptism was wonderful. Congratulations little Avery on your special day. May the holy spirit bless you with a wonderful and long lasting faith. We love you!

As you can see...our January has not slowed down one bit...and from what our calendar reads, there is much fun to come!

Life in a "Gated" Community

2012-01-11T21:45:00.000-06:00

This is my life, as of lately. Trapped by baby gates. There's a baby gate for the bathroom, attic stairs, basement stairs, back hallway, front hallway, kitchen. Really? Thankfully, I was a hurdler (in middle school) and still remember my perfect form to help clear the gates. Brian, not so much. I have a secret tally sheet of how many times he's banged his knee, ankle, or foot. Let's just say, I might need another sheet of paper. Why is it funny every time he trips? I don't know, it just is. He turns around and makes a face at the gate like, "Hey, since when have you been here?".

Anyway, feeling a little trapped in my own house

(<---- and I know he is too... just look at that face), I decided to enroll Jacob in some classes. I enrolled him, fully aware that I'd be doing all the activities as well (you know, acting out "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Wheels on the Bus", "This Old Man", etc.).

Courtesy of: mommyposh.com (AWESOME WEBSITE, LADIES!)

All "hotness" that I've ever felt, totally goes out the window in these classes. I sport my mom jeans, scrunchy, and sneakers, and I am lucky if I have even brushed my teeth or washed my face. Totally kidding. These classes are an excuse to get dressed up, and look somewhat put together. After all, I could possibly be meeting my new BFF!

Yesterday morning was our first class called TOTS ROCK. I walked in, looked around at all the moms and their DAUGHTERS. Yup, that's right. Jacob was the only boy in the class. It was still a good time. Mr. Dave, our instructor, had lots of fun activities planned for us. We sang all the classic nursery rhyme songs, danced, played the tambourine, and shook the jingle bells on our wrists. Well, mine were on my wrists...Jacob had them in his mouth. I pray that he outgrows the "in the mouth" stage REAL SOON! At the end of class, Mr. Dave gave all the kids tattoos, aka ink stamps. Jacob thought it was pretty cool. :) I could tell he felt like a true rock star.

eightcrazydesigns.com

Jacob was the youngest, but tallest and heaviest, in class. It is really funny to compare boys vs. girls at this age. Girls are so petite, and ready to run around and play. Boys are content hanging out close to mom, and watching the girls do everything. Hmmmmm...do they ever grow out of that? wink ;) wink ;)

We are looking forward to participating in the TOTS ROCK class every Tuesday, this month. Then, February through March, on Tuesdays, we are participating in Baby and Me Tumbling. OMG, what did I sign us up for?!? Have you ever seen me do a somersault?

To keep us from feeling trapped in the house this winter, I have also signed us up for some classes through the library. Every Wednesday we are going to Multi-Age Story Time. Every Thursday, we have One-Year Old Story Time. Then, once a month on Fridays, we have Stories LIVE!. If anything, for all this time we are investing, Jacob better know how to freakin' read by next year! :)

All these activities are great for getting us out and about and meeting new people. It looks like we will definitely keep busy this winter. However, truth be told, the moments I cherish most are in my house, with my sweet boy! Fortunately, we know how to make a good time out of nothing - which is a positive since THE BIG STORM of 2012 is coming tomorrow - or so they say! Stay warm!

"I love making funny faces!"

"Smushing my face on the china cabinet will never get old, even if my mom has to clean up after me everyday"

"Chase me around the house some more, mom!"

"Chloe, I think mommy pays the garbage truck driver extra to put on a show for us"

"I just sorted through all of mom's mail."

"Thanks G-ma and G-pa Hansen, this toy rocks!"

New Year Resolution...

2012-01-03T11:32:00.000-06:00

Like every person in America, my husband and I have decided we want to shed some weight. Since having Jacob, I got off most of my baby weight, but Brian is still struggling. :) Kidding! No, truth is, we both just want to be healthier. Brian and I made a promise to each other (when we got married) that we'd let each other know if we were getting too big. However, we both were too afraid to say anything - apparently. Pants don't lie...when both of us had spare tires chillin' on top of our belts, we knew it was time to do something.

Photo courtesy of: muffintopexercises.org

SO....we did it, we are on Weight Watchers. The other night, I sat, in the basement, at the computer on weightwatchers.com. I got all the way through the whole sign up process, and then it said, "enter your credit card information". I thought, crap...my credit card is all the way upstairs. I am too lazy to go get it. I'll do it tomorrow. AND...that's when I knew I had a problem.

The next day, I signed us up!

We started yesterday...I poured Brian a bowl of cereal (3/4 cup) in the morning. He was like, "What the hellck is this?" I told him it was his breakfast. We stared at our cereal bowl for about a minute, laughing. We've never seen a cereal bowl with only 45 cheerios in it. We are used to filling it up to the top, and sometimes going back for seconds. I guess this is our new lifestyle.

Not everything is so bad, though! Last night I made a delicious chili from weightwatchers.com (posted below). We had company over for dinner. I don't normally make a "low-fat" meal when I have guests over, but I thought what the heck, it's worth a shot. Our friend LOVED IT. However, we were all sweating and our noses were running. I replaced the floral arrangement with a box of Kleenex, as our centerpiece. I suggest not putting 1 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes in this recipe. Tone it down a bit.

We have high hopes for 2012. Happy New Year to you all!

Hearty Turkey Chili

Weight Watchers Recipe

6PointsPlus Value

Prep time: 25 min

Cook time: 58 min

Serves: 6

A bowl of hot chili is so satisfying on cold fall days. Ours boasts kidney beans, lean turkey and lots of vegetables, well-seasoned and sprinkled with scallions.

Ingredients:
1 spray(s) of cooking spray

1 tsp canola oil
1 large uncooked onion(s), chopped
2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
1 pound(s) uncooked 93% lean ground turkey
2 medium uncooked carrot(s), thinly sliced into rounds
2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs paprika
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp Durkee ground cumin, or other brand
2 medium fresh tomato(es), chopped
1 cup(s) canned tomato sauce
1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup(s) cooked kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup(s) uncooked scallion(s), chopped

Instructions:
Coat a large pot with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add oil and onion; saute onion until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and carrots; cook until garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add turkey; brown meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Stir to break up lumps.

Add chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, beans and green pepper; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; garnish with scallions. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Oh, What A "1"derful Day

2011-12-29T23:36:00.000-06:00

It was Jacob's birthday on December 17th, 2011. What a great day full of (55) family and friends. This year, I threw him a "Construction Themed" birthday party. I know, it wasn't for him, it was a party for me. What can I say, every mom deserves a party to celebrate making it through sleepless nights, an ever changing body...oh yeah, and keeping their child alive and well for a whole year! Jacob was thrilled about the cake, wrapping paper, tablecloths, and balloons. I could have kept this party so simple, but I decided to go a little overboard. Below are some photos taken by my talented sister-in-law, Katie Hansen - Photography. (Milwaukee, WI). Well, some are taken by me, you'll be able to spot those - I'm no pro!

The Hansen Family (and spouses)

The Birthday Boy

Our Front Yard - It snowed on his birthday-and that's the last we've seen of the white stuff

So much fun remembering how tiny Jacob once was

Opening up one of his MANY presents - spoiled boy

I ordered his shirt on Etsy-don't you love that website?

Thanks for an awesome puzzle Aunt Katie and Uncle Nick

The set-up

The Gift Buckets - filled with bubbles, homemade cookies (in the shape of a hammer, screwdriver, wrench, and hammer), a sticker book, gummie tools, and a construction rubber ducky. Thank you Amazon for making this a one stop shopping experience

Favors for the older kids - cookies!

Once again, my sister-in-law helped out with the party by making the labels for the construction hats - it really pays to have such an artsy person in the family

We framed Jacob's invitation (thank you for the idea, K-Love and J-Jar)

Once again, my sister-in-law's design

I had to incorporate some kind of "holiday spirit" into this party. Afterall, it was only a week before Christmas

On to the sweets table! My hubby made the table cover out of wood. We added wooden legs to the table, and have now converted the "road table" into Jacob's play table, in the basement! Of course, Chloe is posing!

Milk Duds, Whoppers, Reeses Pieces, OH MY!

Latest Crave Cupcakes...YUM

My parent's brought this cake in all the way from one of my favorite bakeries in Wisconsin, Van de Walle's - So good!

This was my "Happy Birthday" music box when I was a child

Because what party is complete without water bottle labels? Nevermind how long it took me to put these suckers on.

His Smash Cake, and Smash he did!

Not too sure about that flame

Taking a nap on Grandma, after a long, but FUN day!

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! We love you!

Even daddy got some cake

A Little "Licht" In My Life

2011-12-28T20:15:00.000-06:00

Insider Info:
For those of you who don't get the ~~awesome~~ corny title of my blog, "A Little Licht In My Life", my last name is Licht, pronounced Light. Ahhhhhh....now it all makes sense, doesn't it?!

A little bit about my blog, and me:

I am a stay-at-home mom to a wonderful baby boy, Jacob. He just turned one, in December. I know, I can't believe it! I promised myself that when Jacob turned a year, I would create a blog to showcase the "Licht" of my life - which is Jacob. Don't get my wrong, there are two "Lichts" of my life...Jacob, and my amazing husband, Brian. BUT...doesn't the baby always trump all? J/K sweetheart (if he is even reading this)!
I got to thinking, while my child will always be my first and foremost priority...I have so many other things that I enjoy in life. I love home design, floral creations, party planning, cooking, baking, eating, drinking, traveling, shopping, sports, exercise...why don't I write about all the "Lichts" in my life!