If I Could..

So, I am totally in love with this song. Trev and I got this lullaby cd when Noah was a newborn and I had a favorite song then... and surprisingly when I pulled it out to use for Riley, I picked a new favorite song! It's called "If I Could" I could explain it and all that jazz but just listen to it! But you probably won't appreciate it unless you have kids! :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

So for the longest time I had a hard time getting my cookies to turn out the way I wanted them to. They were too flat, too hard, not cooked enough, too brown... etc. Anyways, after much trial and error I have discovered what I think to be the perfect cookie! :) Most important tip I have learned: use more flour! (Thanks to my friend Autumn- who happens to make some of the best cookies ever!) I have found in nearly every recipe [not just chocolate chip] I have to increase the flour by at least 3/4 cup.. sometimes more. So here is the cookie recipe my mom gave me.. with just a couple changes by me!

-1 cup crisco (or regular unsalted butter works just fine, but I prefer the crisco)
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla
-3 cups flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I use 1/2 cup semisweet, 1/2 cup milk choc)

Directions:
Cream together crisco, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in vanilla and 2 eggs, mix well. Mix in baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add in flour, I do one cup at a time. Stir in chocolate chips. Easy Peasy. :) Bake at 375* for 8-10 min. I check mine at 8 minutes, but usually cook them the full 10 minutes. Just cook them til they are golden brown and look good to you.

This is the only picture I have of my cookies! Thank goodness for instagram! :)

20 Random Facts About Me.

So recently I posted this post, and I am now doing #1 on the list.

20 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME.

1. I sometimes think I could live on ramen noodles and cereal. Oh and tuna helper. Ya I know, suuuper healthy.

2. I don't really grow leg hair... like I only have to shave my legs every 2 months.. and I don't think anyone but me notices the hair on my legs.. Not even Trev. Ha.

3. My favorite Disney movie is The Little Mermaid. (Wish my boys would appreciate it more..)

4. I have a new found love for hiking. I love love love hiking with my family. Wish there were more places to hike around here though.

5. I am slightly obsessed with TV shows. We recently got rid of our DISH but before then I had at least 2 (5 at most) shows recording every night. Ask me how I am doing with our TV... :( Haha.

6. I cry in pretty much every movie I have ever watched. The way I see it, if I don't cry the movie wasn't very good. Haha.

7. I am a morning person. I would much prefer waking up at 6:00 a.m. and go to bed by 9:00 p.m. than to sleep in all day and go to bed after midnight.

8. I can be a very jealous person. Funny quote I found a few months ago, "A jealous woman can do better research than the FBI." 100% true... at least for me. I rock at finding stuff out. We joke that I should probably be a detective. :)

9. I am a liberal. I am just beginning to understand and enjoy politics and while I have been learning and researching more about politics and government I have discovered I am very much a liberal.

10. I think my boys are the cutest, smartest, most amazing kids on the planet. Haha. They are my world. :) (Biased much?)

11. Condiments are more important to me than the actual meal.

12. I am slightly anti-social. I am working on being a better people person.

13. Right now, I am desperately wanting a Chevy Volt and a house that is powered by renewable energy (solar panels, windmill, yada-yada)

14. I love love online shopping. :)

15. I take WAYYYY too many pictures. Haha. I just love documenting my life. :) I don't want to miss a moment!

16. I am totally into astrology/horoscopes stuff. I love reading into why I am such a cancer and why trev and our boys act the way they do because of their signs. I have astrological charts printed off for all 4 of us, saying what sign is our sun, moon, rising, north node, etc. Pretty nerdy... but totally cool! :)

17. I sing the same 5 hymns/children's hymns every night to get Noah to sleep.

18. During my pregnancy with Riley, my feet grew 1/2 size.. I barely squeeze into my shoes now.:( But I do get to do some new shoe shopping now!

19. I have zero self discipline. So this whole "losing the baby weight" business is getting terribly depressing for me! 

20. This list was way harder than it should have been for me... it literally took me weeks. Haha.

I found this idea on pinterest and then found the girl's blog who made up the list. The original post is found here.

"Babyproofing Your Marriage"-Book Review!

Source: suarezfamilyroots.blogspot.com via Shaylise on Pinterest

*Found this awesome quote on Pinterest awhile ago, and i just love it.*

So, I am sure I don't need to tell anyone that has kids that everything gets a little harder once you add a baby into the mix. But you tend to forget how hard that transition is when you decide to add a second baby in... well at least I did. The whole time I was pregnant with Riley, I was concerned about Noah's transition from only child to big brother.. I didn't even think about the challenging times for my marriage. Not that I am saying our life is that bad or ever has been.. but having children is an adjustment. In the long run, I would definitely say having a baby strengthened my marriage (just in the short 2 years of Noah's life, my love for Trev has grown immensely and I know he feels the same.) But that first like 6-12 months of having a baby can be a little rough at times. I know for me, I felt slightly overwhelmed trying to figure out how to be a good mom, wife, house cleaner, cook, etc. etc. Oh and after all that is done, finding time for ME. Haha, yeah right. With all that pressure, any little thing can send a person WAY over the edge.. and trust me that has happened many times! But things calm down and the baby starts sleeping more, you figure out a routine and what works for you and your family, and slowly things return to normal. (or your new normal, what I feel [most days!] is better than before!)
Ok, ok.. I totally went off there. My point, I forgot how hard it can sometimes be with a newborn. It is a crazy, wonderful thing. It's even harder when you have a 2 1/2 year old and a newborn... there is seriously no time for my marriage. I know we will get through it and come out so much better and stronger and more in love than before. ALLLLLLLL that being said, I am reading this book called, "Babyproofing Your Marriage" and it totally rocks. I am in love and only a few pages in. It is written by three women Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone. I am recommending this book to anyone with kids, or expecting, or even newly married! Go buy this book NOW! :)

I am not trying to say my marriage is on the rocks (cus it's not! Ha not that I would probably share if it was, lol) and I am not saying my children have ruined my life.... because they have blessed my life and shown me that I have so much love inside me. They have blessed my family and my marriage, they have strengthened me and Trevor and our love. Holy cow, I need to get off my soapbox about this.. Book review/life lesson over now! :)