Finally Friday

Friends - it's been such a long week!  After my weekend of nothing last weekend, it was hard to get in to the swing of things.  Plus - Tim had work events both Wednesday and Thursday nights, so I had a few long days this week.  Today is a "normal" day - so Tim will be home after work and we don't have any plans for the night.  I can't wait to see him!

#BloggerLove has quickly become one of the highlights of my weeks.  I really enjoy seeing the blogs you all recommend, and I've found a few new faves from your links.  Of course, it's always nice to share the love and highlight other bloggers here too!  So, let's get to it.

"Confessions: 100th Blog Post Edition" by The Kay Times.  Krystal always has the best confession posts because she is so honest and keeps it real for us.  Her gifs are hilarious and always include at least one housewife - my fave!  Plus, let's not overlook the fact that this was her 100th post! 

"#samanthaslastdoedown" by It's All in the Details.  Samantha went to Nashville for her Bachelorette Party and had the best recap!  I am planning a girls trip in October with some friends, so I was seriously taking notes.  After commenting, she even sent multiple emails with more suggestions.  So sweet.  Except now I wish it was October.

"On Opinions, Ice Buckets and Saying No to Fear" by The Rachael Way.  Rachael said what I was thinking.  I think the Ice Bucket Challenge is becoming annoying.  Not because of the effect it is having - which is amazing, but because of the people only dumping water on their heads.  Why don't we save the water and donate, as well to a charity that we truly believe in?  I was nominated and donated to the ALS organization as well as two others.  I grew up in the non-profit world (my Dad has run one for 35+ years) and my entire professional career as been in non-profits, so I get it.  Maybe that's why it bothers me so much.  Oh, and the fact that I personally knew someone that passed away from ALS and some "challenges" I see on facebook make it look like a joke.  Ok, rant over.  (Thanks Rachael for giving me the strength to go on this rant!!)

"A Letter to New Moms" by The Rambling Llama.  A million times yes.  Melissa hits the nail on the head with this one.  There's so many things about motherhood that you can never read about or learn until you experience them!

Don't forget if you are linking up: Make sure your post includes at least one link to another blog from this week.  If you tweet, please use #bloggerlove!  Have a great weekend friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Easy Egg Muffins

I am really bad when it comes to breakfast.  By the time I get up, dress and feed my children, I can sometimes sneak in 15ish minutes to get ready.  Then I'm either off to work or doing things with the girls.  I rarely remember to eat breakfast, and when I do, it's something quick like a (sugar loaded) granola bar. 

Then, one day, to the rescue came one of my besties, Cara.  She had made egg muffins for the week and they looked delicious.  She sent me the pin and I finally got around to making them.  (Original recipe found here)

 

Ingredients:

6 eggs

chopped veggies of your choice (about 1 cup worth).  I used brocolli, red pepper and yellow and green onion.

1/4 c shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

cooking spray

12 cupcake liners

 

-Preheat the oven to 375. 

-Chop your veggies of choice.

-Line a cupcake pan with two liners each - 6 cupcakes total.  The two liners is key because the egg will soak through just one liner!  Spray each set of liners generously with cooking spray.

-Divide the veggies in to each liner, then the cheese.

-Mix up the eggs in a seperate bowl and then pour evenly in to each liner, shown below.

 

 

-Slightly stir, just to mix up the egg with your veggies and cheese.

-Bake for 30 minutes, until the tops just turn golden brown.

 

After cooling, I put these in the fridge and plan to eat one each morning.  Finally - something quick, healthy and protein packed to keep me full until lunch.

 

If you make them, let me know which veggies you use!

When Peanuts Attack

One of E's favorite snacks is peanut butter crackers.  I'm pretty sure she would eat them every day, for every meal, and snacks in between if we let her.  The other day, per usual, she asked for them and I said she could have a few.  We hadn't given A nuts of any kind - not because of known allergies, or allergies in the family, but just because I wanted to make sure I was home with her when she had them for the first time, you know, just in case.

Just in case turned in to alarm after I let E share her snack with her sister. In just a few short moments, the skin around A's face became red, raised and splotchy.  She was grabbing at her face, and I panicked.  After calming myself down and telling myself to think rationally (I think this is a Mom superhero quality, as I don't really know where it came from), I checked in her mouth, listened to her breathing, and realized that her tongue was not swelling and she was breathing normally.  Thank God.

Not the best pic - 13 month olds don't sit still - ever.

I quickly gave her Benadryl (again - superhero Mom told me to do this) and called her doctor.  It was before hours so I had to wait the longest ten-ish minutes in my life.  Once she called back, we had a quick consult over the phone and we both agreed that the reaction was not life threatening.  The plan of action was to keep giving benadryl for the day, to have a blood test to figure out the severity of her allergy, and of course, keep her from eating nuts of any kind until then.

We are no stranger to food allergies.  E was allergic to strawberries from 12 months - 20 months.  Thankfully, she outgrew it.  But peanuts?  This is a whole new set of complications.  I'm terrified.  What if she doesn't outgrow this, but it in fact grows more severe?  What if she can't even be around nuts, let alone eat them?  Will I have to read every food label in search of a possible "peanut allergy" warnings?  How would I be able to send her to a friends house, a birthday party, anywhere, in fear of her coming in to contact with nuts? 

Today my wish is this: that A's allergy is so minimal there will be no long term concerns, and even better - that she outgrows it. 

Have any of you dealt with a nut allergy - either in your children or yourselves?  Words of encouragement are very welcomed!

A Weekend of Nothing

You have no idea how good it feels to actually write that.  We didn't have any plans for the weekend and it was great!  Well, actually, we did have plans to go to Sheboygan, Wisconsin to spend a few days on the beach with the girls.  But, after travelling every other week all summer and always having something on our schedule, we thought that we needed a weekend of nothing.  And it was glorious!

Friday Tim went golfing and got a hole in one!  If you follow me on Twitter, you already read that he wants to blog about it.  He won't stop talking about it is pretty proud of himself.

Saturday morning was spent at the park.  The girls played on the equipment and swang for over an hour - and we had the whole playground to ourselves!  There is something so special about watching your children find joy at a playground - swinging, going down slides, climbing on ropes.  Saturday afternoon we played outside and shopped for a big girl bike for E.

 

 

Sunday, Tim and the girls spent some time with my in-laws (while I shopped at Trader Joe's and Target, solo - win!)  Sunday night we played outside again while Tim grilled a delicious dinner for us.  The fact that summer is almost over was evident by the jackets that had to be worn - but I'm not ready to say goodbye quite yet.

Trying out her sister's scooter!

 

Today I am grateful for time.  Time with my family.  Time to just be together, to play, to love.  I think that we need to "schedule" a weekend of nothing every month - it was so refreshing!  Today I'm linking up with Ember Grey for Grateful Heart Monday.

How was your weekend?  What are you grateful for today?