Looking forward to...

1.  Seeing my sister and her kids on Saturday afternoon!  They are moving home from Florida, where they have been living for the past 8 months!!!  Eight months with a sister 2000 miles away was TORTURE!!!!

2.  Coffee on Sunday morning with my mom & sis....ahhhhhhhh!

3.  A long 4th of July weekend at the Severson cabin!  Water skiing, swimming with Marley, sunshine (hopefully), and lots of time with family!  Sounds heavenly!

4.  A solid 8 hours of sleep, which likely won't happen for a very long time!  Miss Marley loves getting up to eat in the middle of the night and I'm not going to rush her out of this stage!  Breastfeeding will be over soon enough and then I'm sure I'll miss bonding with my babe!

Happy Thursday (almost)!!

Purely Delish!!!!

The most delicious recipe for a mushroom based side dish, hands down!  Passed on to me by a person who shall remain nameless...concocted by a chef at a restaurant that shall remain nameless!  But you know who you are and THANK YOU very much for sharing!

I'd serve this with just about anything.  Keep in mind it's a savory side dish, maybe paired well with a nice steak!  Beware...it's VERY rich and maybe not so healthy!  But hey, live a little!!

Mushroom Creme Brulee

What you'll need:
5 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup half and half
1 tbsp chives
1 tbsp thyme
3/4 lb shiitake and cremini mushrooms
Goat Cheese
Gouda

Assembly:
Mix yolks, cream, half & half, and chives in small bowl.  Sautee mushrooms, thyme, and salt & pepper (to taste).  Add a bit of goat cheese to bottom of ramekin...enough to cover the bottom of dish.  The number of ramekins that this will make will (obviously) depend on what size dish you are using!  Think individual side dish!  Add mushrooms and top with egg/cream mixture.  Sprinkle with gouda to cover and bake in a water bath at 350 degrees for an hour or until done.  Will be creamy, but not runny!

Enjoy!!!!  If anyone decides to give this recipe a try, let me know what you think!

Father's Day FunDay!!!

We had such a fun Sunday at our house!!!!  Yardwork, followed by pool time and playtime in our backyard, and then a delish dinner!  Pretty sure Travis is IN LOVE with his baby girl!  How quickly Marley has wrapped Daddy around her little finger...hehehehe!  Here are some photos from our day...

Soooooooo much fun in our new pool...Marley LOVES the water, and her puppy, and her daddy!

What a Weekend!!!

We had an amazing weekend...my mom picked Marley up and baby-sat her for a few days while Travis and I made the trip to Grand Marais for one of my very best friends wedding!  Michelle and Luke got married!!!!!!!!!!  And it was the most fun I have had in a very long time!  We had amazing weather both Thursday and Friday, which made the weekend even better.  The grooms dinner was Thursday night at The Landing/Devil's Track Resort, owned by Michelle's brother and sister-in-law.  Sooo much fun!  There was an awesome acoustic band, great food, GREAT PEOPLE!  It was so much fun for the two families and groups of friends to come together the night before the ceremony.  Luke has so many WONDERFUL friends and it was a joy to meet them!  And of course, the LaVigne family is amazing!!  You can always count on a good time when they are around!

On Friday, we got up early and started on hair and make-up.  By 1pm, we were taking pictures in Michelle's backyard and enjoying the sunshine.  To say Michelle was a stunning bride would be an understatement!  She was GORGEOUS!!!  Luke is a lucky man :)  The ceremony went off without a hitch and the reception was a blast!  Both Annie and Amelia gave very heartfelt speeches/toasts to Luke and Michelle, and everyone really felt honored to be a part of their special day!  I'm so excited for the beginning of a very long and happy life together for the Phernetton's!  They are a great couple!  My best moment from the reception...closing the night out "on stage" with Michelle, Annie, and Amelia...rocking out to Sweet Child of Mine by GNR!  We are ROCKSTARS!!!  A bunch of people got the performance on video...I'm sure that will be truly entertaining!!!  Love you girls!

Sneak peek of Michelle and Annie at the wedding!!

Travis and I arrived home Saturday afternoon and were able to cuddle with little Marley for the first time in a few days!  I missed her soooooo much!!  I know she had a great time with Nama and Papa in Faribault, but I think she was excited to get home to her own crib and surroundings!  She slept like an angel last night and didn't wake up this morning until 8:30am!  What a peanut!

I bought her a kiddie pool today for the backyard and we are about to take a dip as soon as she wakes up from nap-time!  And then it's yummy tenderloin steak dinner to celebrate Trav's first Father's Day!  Travis is an amazing daddy to Marley and I'm so lucky to have him in my life!  He does so much for our new little family and Marley and I both love him to death!!!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!  And Happy Sunday!

Stevie

One Day at a Time...

One day at a time and here we are, almost at the 5 month birthday of our daughter, Miss Marley!  On Friday, June 11th, Marley will be celebrating the 5 month mark of being in this crazy world, and we will be thanking God for letting her be a part of our lives!  I went through a stage where her presence was a novelty...where I almost didn't believe that she was mine or maybe I just didn't realize I'd have her forever.  It takes some time to sink in.  And now I'm finding it hard to imagine my life without her.  It's as if she was with us all along and the days of easy come, easy go, freedom to do what we please, and sleeping in are now long behind us...though I wouldn't go back if you gave me the option.  I'm in love with my baby girl.  She literally makes my heart happy!  And the mere thought of her brings a smile to my face!  What a little angel...

So, as Marley turns 5 months old, it's amazing to think of how much she has changed in such a very short period of time.  Some of the most recent milestones or things to remember:

1.  As soon as we got back from Memorial Day at the cabin, we moved Marley up to Size 3 diapers!  We still have a closet full of diapers from baby showers and have yet to purchase any on our own!  Wow!

2.  Marley is now rolling over both ways with ease, sitting up for short periods of time by herself (though she likes to topple foward a bit), and sucking on her toes!  Sounds gross, I know, but it's really cute!  And her feet are clean!

3.  Her coordination is developing quickly and she is now really focusing on moving objects from one hand to another.  She can hold onto toys and grasp things, like her washcloth.

4.  She is taking baths in the BIG GIRL bathtub!  And she is quite the splasher!  I think we may have a swimmer on our hands!  Or at least a water skiier...daddy says girls that can water ski are HOT!  Ha!

5.  On June 7th, I started feeding her Organic Brown Rice cereal mixed with breastmilk.  She just seemed ready to eat, and I noticed she was smacking her lips and imitating chewing as she watched me eat some chips (go figure...me, eating chips)!  I decided it might be a good time to try cereal and sure enough, she was like a little bird with her mouth wide open!  I couldn't get the spoon into her mouth fast enough!  So we're doing 1 feeding per day right now, and will work up to 2 feedings per day by next week.  Then I'm going to introduce peas and other green veggies! 

6.  Marley is a talk, talk, talker!!!  She has a raspy voice, maybe kind of like mine?!

7.  Her BFF as of now is Sasha...she LOVES that doggie!  Sasha will just lay there while Marley pets her and pulls on her ears and tries to shove a handful of fur in her mouth!  It is the cutest thing!  They really are going to be great buds!

What are we looking forward to this week...dinner with Annie, Michelle, and Lesley tomorrow as a belated celebration for Annie's birthday!  Also, I will be solo mommy again this weekend...not that I'm looking forward to it, but it will give me some down time at home to catch up on a few projects!  Next week, Michelle is getting married!!!!  I'm so excited for a weekend away in Grand Marais, watching one of my best friends tie the knot, and spending time with some of my favorite people, not to mention catching up with a lot of old college friends!  It will be an AMAZING weekend!!

Ta-ta for now!  Wishing everyone a great week!
XOXO-
Stevie

Marley's 5 month Pics!!!!

Casey came to our house today and took some great pictures of Miss Marley and family!  She posted a few of her favorites on her blog...check them out!

Love,
Stevie 

Minneapolis Photographer » Smile upon your Face Photography

smileuponyourface.com

Memorial Day Fun Up North!!

We made the trip to Fifty Lakes for Memorial Day weekend and had a blast!  The weather was beautiful, we had plenty of time for relaxation, and we were even able to have a mini date on Sunday afternoon while Grandma K babysat!  Yay!

We spent Saturday down at the lake...Marley was able to dip her tootsies into the water for the first time and she LOVED it!  She looked so cute in her little swim suit and sun hat!  I slathered her entire body in SPF 70 because my baby girl has fair skin!!  And I learned an important lesson...wash hands after touching SPF 70 or else you will have some wicked tan lines of your own!  And I did!  We celebrated Trav's birthday on Saturday night with his parents.  Yummy dinner on the grill, a delicious cake, and wine!

Sunday was a bit cloudy, but still beautiful and we spent lots of time lounging in the porch!  Trav and I had breakfast at Pine Peaks (yum) and made a stop for an ice cream cone on our way home...delish!  We discovered that Marley looks ADORABLE in bandanas on Sunday...and they work much better for her than a sun hat!  She spent a lot of time hanging out with Grandma K and modeling their matching head scarves!  Too cute!

We didn't want the weekend to be over...so we stayed at the cabin until late on Monday.  I went water skiing for the first time this year and froze my butt off in the lake!  I then spent the next 4 days with throbbing forearms!  I forgot how much strength it takes to water ski! 

What a fabulous weekend with family and a time to remember how lucky we all are to have our freedom.  A huge thank you to all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends...and my grandpa too, for serving in the military and protecting the freedom we are so blessed to have.

Hugs,
Stevie