Do It Yourself Tutorial: Ribbon Bow Holder

Happy Friday!!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for all of the comments & emails about yesterday’s post. Honestly I didn’t intend to write about my BRCA results, but once I heard about Angelina’s story it really hit home & I felt the need to share my story.

I really hope that if you do have a history of breast cancer in your family that you really do consider getting the BRCA testing done. If you ever have any questions regarding it, you can email me. I may not have all the answers, but I will do my best to find out the answer for you.

Now on to a MUCH lighter topic.

I am a SUCKER for bows. I LOVE putting them in Gabriella’s hair.

Her hair is finally long enough to get it into a bow. Of course it is a SUPER tiny amount of hair (she got her Momma’s super fine, thin hair), but I found bows that hold her hair up- the kind with velcro. They work perfectly!

^ just another trip to the grocery store…with Gabriella chewing my grocery list

Once I found out that they made these velcro bows, I IMMEDIATELY went on Etsy to order some. Of course it is now an obsession, and I feel as though she must have a bow to wear with every outfit. Someone call for help, please.

Because she now has this extensive bow collection, I wanted to have some way to display them rather than just throwing them in a drawer somewhere. Of course I went on Etsy to see what I could find. WELL, I found a TON & most were $15- $20 PLUS shipping. But the more & more that I looked at them I thought, ‘I could just make my own.’ They looked VERY easy to make, so I gave it a try.

So here is a QUICK, EASY, CHEAP (everything cost around $5) do it yourself bow holder tutorial because I KNOW I’m not the only Mom addicted to dolling their daughter up with bows.

Supplies:

-Letter of your choice (Obviously I picked G for Gabriella), I got this pink glitter letter from JoAnn’s- it was like $2
-Grossgrain ribbon (I got 3/8” because her bows are really tiny, but you can get wider ribbon if making for larger bows)
-Ornament for letter, if you want it. I just thought the flamingo was too cute & it matched her letter perfectly
-Hot glue gun (plus glue sticks)
-Something to hang it on the way with (I used 3M photo stickers)

Directions:

1. If using an ornament or decoration on the front, hot glue it in the location of choice. Let dry for about a minute, then turn the letter over.

2. Measure out how long you want your ribbon to hang, of course this will all be up to your discretion depending on where you want to hang it & how many bows you have to hang.

3. Decide how many ‘rows’ of ribbon you want, making sure that you keep enough space in between each ribbon so that they bows do not overlap. I decided on three rows. Glue the first ribbon to the back of the letter.

4. Evenly space out the ribbon, and glue the second ribbon to the back. I put the bows on the ribbon, just so I could make sure that there was enough space between each. Glue the second ribbon to the back.

5. Continue gluing the remaining ribbons to the back of you letter.

6. Once finished gluing the the ribbons, use a lighter and burn the ends of the ribbons. Just be careful, they burn QUICK. It’s literally like a one second & then blow out. This is to keep the ribbon from fraying.

7. Wait a few minutes, until the hot glue has cooled & dried, then flip letter over & add the bows to your ribbon.

8. And you have your bow holder!

The whole process took MAYBE five minutes. I even did it while Gabriella was playing on the floor. She didn’t even notice I wasn’t there.

Of course I had to see what she thought.

This was her reaction:

Not sure how I’m supposed to interpret that?! And LOOK AT HER TONGUE. It is SO LONG! Girl is part lizard

And of course immediately it went into her mouth…as does EVERYTHING.

Life of a teething baby!

05.16.13

by Holly at Everyday's a 'Hollyday'

BRCA Positive

It’s hard for me NOT to talk about what is going on with Angelina Jolie and how it affects me personally.

I am also BRCA positive.

Scary? Yes. Very. I am 87% likely to get breast cancer. EIGHTY SEVEN PERCENT. And 50% likely to get ovarian cancer. TERRIFYING to say the least.

I had the blood test done when I was 21. The reason I decided to do it was because my biological mother had breast cancer, she did survive, but does have constant scares with new lumps or tumors. Her mother also had breast cancer, but did NOT survive. She passed away pretty young, I believe she was in her 50’s. I did not know her, but I did find out she passed away from it.

The blood test does not give you the results right away, it takes about two weeks, from what I can remember.

Craig and I were dating at the time, and I remember the day I got the results. I was standing in the kitchen, and Craig had JUST walked into the house for lunch. (He comes home for lunch) The office called, and I immediately picked the phone up, and my doctor started out by saying, ‘Holly, your results are in, and it came back positive. You are BRCA1 positive. I am so sorry.’

I just looked up at Craig, and couldn’t help but start crying. My doctor was still on the phone and was very sweet, she kept telling me everything was ok and told me I could go in to see her for counseling if I wanted. I thanked her, hung up and just cried. I was SO thankful Craig was there (how random is it that my doctor called me RIGHT when he got home? I’d say some divine intervention happened, for sure), he just held me and said everything would in fact be ok.

Seriously one of the reasons I married him. He is SO STRONG and SO SUPPORTIVE in EVERYTHING. He comforts me in times of need and really does put my mind at ease.

Honestly the FIRST thing I thought of was my children. Of course I didn’t have children at the time, it was before we were married…it was actually not too long after we had started dating. (Poor guy has to deal with someone with Crohn’s disease AND BRCA 1+…at least he knew what he was getting himself into before he asked me to marry him. )

I IMMEDIATELY thought ‘Oh my gosh, what if I pass this gene to my future children?!’ Craig then reminded me that obviously I have no choice as to what genes would be passed to children, which I knew, but it still made me sad.

But NOW it is a whole new story. I DO have a child.

A beautiful baby girl that I’m HEAD OVER HEELS in love with.

Before I had Gabriella, and shortly after finding out that I was BRCA positive, I decided that I DID want to have the preventative mastectomy. I also want my ovaries out.

Once I decided this, I had another choice to make: Have the surgery NOW or wait until after I have children? I always wanted children, and I had a feeling that Craig was THE ONE (even though it was only a few months into our relationship), but I had no idea when I actually would have kids.

I decided to schedule a few appointments with various surgeons around town to discuss the preventative mastectomy. I knew I had a LOT to think about & consider. I explained my situation to the surgeons I met with, listened to their advice and opinions and ultimately made my decision.

For ME, the best decision was the wait until after having children. The main reason was that I wanted to be able to breast feed, and the surgeons told me that I was still pretty young to have the surgery. Of course breast cancer doesn’t wait to affect someone until a certain age, but with LOTS of monitoring & frequent mammograms and annual MRI’s, any suspicious tumors or cells would hopefully be caught quickly.

My plan is still DEFINITELY to get the preventative mastectomy & my ovaries removed once we have baby #2. Of course both of these are MAJOR surgeries, and they will be life changing…I will probably have to be on certain hormones for the rest of my life. But you know what?

If doing these surgeries means that I will get to see my baby girl (&baby #2) grow up and have children of their own…and maybe those children have children means EVERYTHING to me. EVERYTHING.

ANYTHING for them is WORTH EVERY ounce of pain.

My future is with my husband and my children. And that is one future I WILL NOT MISS out on.

One other thing I want to add is that I have heard of some women actually NOT getting the test done because they are scared of the possible outcome of being BRCA positive. I understand it is scary. I GET IT. But having this test could save your life. Please don’t be scared of it, it is MUCH better to be aware of it rather than just trying to block it out of your mind. It’s not like it will just ‘go away’ if you don’t think about it.

Here are some links that have more information about BRCA testing & about the gene mutation in case you are interested:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/brca-gene-test/MY00322
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/15/health/brca-expert-qa/?hpt=hp_bn13 (<—7 questions answered about the gene and testing)

***Head’s up: BRCA testing is EXPENSIVE. BUT the good news is that if you can provide proof of someone related to you (usually close family member- mother/ father/ sister/ grandmother/ aunt) having breast cancer, insurance companies will typically cover the cost. Of course you should contact your insurance company regarding what they will cover. My insurance did cover the WHOLE test, since I could prove that my biological mother & maternal grandmother had the disease. I also found out that they will cover MOST of my surgeries as well, since it IS preventative.***

05.15.13

by Holly at Everyday's a 'Hollyday'

Stuffed Salmon & NEW Workout!

Good Morning!

Boy do I have a recipe for you today. But first, let me share the workout I have been promising to give you.

This is a workout for the gym, but many exercises can be done at home using dumbbells. It is a combination weight workout, along with cardio exercises (these exercises are in purple). It is designed to keep your heart rate up while doing weight exercises. – means more fat & calorie burn!

Arms/ Abs/ Calves

Bicep Cable Curls: 3 x 12
Super Set Overhead Triceps Press: 3 x 12

25 Jumping Jacks

Cable Rope Hammer Curls : 3 x 12
Super Set Triceps Pushdown with Straight Bar: 3 x 12

20 Squat Jumps

Bosu Ball Crunch, pulling weight behind your head using rope attachment on cable machine: 3 X 25
Super Set Weight Oblique Side Crunch (use plate): 3 x 15

15 (or as many as you can) burpees with jump at the end (I know, they suck )

Incline Sit ups holding a plate: 3 x 12
Super Set Incline Twisting Oblique Twists holding a plate: 3 x 10 (each side)

25 Plié Squat Jumps

Upright Rows using straight bar on cable machine: 3 x 12
Super Set Barbell Shoulder Press 3 x 12

20 Skaters (each leg)

Dumbbell Lat Raises 3 x 12
Super Set Front Raises (can use plate instead of dumbbells): 3 x 12

10 Tuck Jumps (tuck knees into chest while jumping)

Standing Calf Raises (I used a weighted bar on the squat machine): 3 x 15
Super Set Seated Calf Raises: 3 x 15

Sprint 1/4 of a mile on the treadmill- as fast as you can, which will probably not be too fast since it IS the very end of your workout- you are probably pretty tired by now.

Most of the exercises can be found online, but if you do have any questions about the moves, let me know! I will get back to you ASAP!

Now, for that recipe. Lately I have been on a salmon kick. I LOVE it. I can’t get enough of it. My favorite FAST way to prepare it is to season it with salt & pepper, then top it with a couple of tablespoons of raspberry jam & top it with a few chopped pecans. I bake it at 425 degrees for 15- 20 minutes, depending on the size of the piece of fish.

Now because I had a little bit of extra time last night, I found a new salmon recipe on Pinterest. (thank goodness for Pinterest, right?!)

I ran across Stuffed Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce. My mouth started watering at just the NAME of the recipe.

My pictures may not be as pretty as the original source, but I guarantee it tasted just as good! The original recipe is found HERE- this is NOT my creation! I have copied the recipe below and have added in what I changed.

STUFFED SALMON with SRIRACHA CREAM SAUCE

TERIYAKI MARINADE INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 cup water

5 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tablespoons honey

TERIYAKI MARINADE DIRECTIONS

1. in a small bowl, combine cornstarch & 1/4 cup cold water. stir until cornstarch is dissolved; set aside

2. in a saucepan, combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, ground ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar & honey; bring to a simmer

3. When liquid is simmering & brown sugar has melted, add the cornstarch/water mixture & simmer until thick enough to coat a back of a spoon (do not over thicken!)

SRIRACHA CREAM SAUCE INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup Sriracha sauce

6 oz. Fat Free Greek Yogurt

3 tablespoons condensed milk

SRIRACHA CREAM DIRECTIONS

1. in a medium bowl, combine Sriracha & Greek yogurt & whisk well

2. add condensed milk & whisk until fully incorporated; add more condensed milk for a milder taste & more Sriracha for a spicier taste

STUFFED SALMON W/ SRIRACHA CREAM SAUCE INGREDIENTS

2 salmon filets

teriyaki marinade (recipe above)

sriracha cream sauce (recipe above)

2 tbsp low fat cream cheese (room temperature)

green onions (thinly sliced)

sesame seeds

cooking spray

STUFFED SALMON W/ SRIRACHA CREAM SAUCE DIRECTIONS

1. in a baking/marinating dish, place salmon filets & add 3/4 cup teriyaki marinade. let marinade reach about 1/2 of the sides of filets. marinade in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to overnight

2. preheat oven to 400 degrees. meanwhile, line a baking dish with aluminum foil & spray with cooking spray; set aside

3. on a cutting board, slit the sides of each salmon filets making a long pocket/envelope; do not pierce through the other side!

4. insert about a tablespoon of cream cheese into each pocket; do not overstuff or the cream cheese will seep out during baking

5. in the prepared baking dish, place stuffed salmons & sprinkle a nice amount of sesame seeds. cover the baking dish & salmon filets with another sheet of foil & bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until salmon is cooked all the way through

6. Take out fish & turn on broiler. Broil fish for about 3-5 minutes, or until fish is SLIGHTLY browned around edges.

6. Once fish is broiled, place in a serving dish & drizzle with sriracha cream sauce, some of the remaining teriyaki marinade & garnish with thinly sliced green onions

Seriously my pictures do NOT do this dish justice. It was DELICIOUS! & SO WORTH the additional time is took to prepare. A lot of the recipe is based on personal taste, like if you want to add extra sriracha to the sauce and how much of the sauces to drizzle on the fish. I know it looks like a LOT of steps, but it really is pretty easy overall.

Well this post has been a TON of text and very few pictures, so with that I MUST include a picture of Gabriella that just makes me smile.

Silly little girl.

Do you have a favorite salmon recipe? Please feel free to link away!

05.14.13

by Holly at Everyday's a 'Hollyday'

Top 10 Things for a Six Month Old

I know it appears that this has turned into a Mommy blog. Sorry…well, I guess it’s one of those ‘Sorry, I’m not sorry’ kind of things! My whole world right now is Gabriella and I really don’t see that changing much anytime soon. I know you Moms can relate

Now with that said I do intend to have other things on here besides just baby stuff. I promise it WILL actually happen! I have a workout that I will share tomorrow, but today I wanted to do a follow up to my post ‘Top 10 Things for a Newborn.’

Since Gabriella is now a HALF of a year old (?!?!?!?!), I have a whole new list for you. Now, of course, please keep in mind that these are what work for US, all babies are different.

1. Jumperoo

Girl cannot get ENOUGH of this toy! Sometimes this really is my saving grace. I can clean the kitchen while she jumps all around. I have the CUTEST video of her jumping all around in it, but it was too big to send from my phone to my email…anyone have any ideas of how to do this?? It is hilarious! She was just cracking up! She really loves that hanging fly/insect on the side- (the one with the black & white dots) she just chews on it like crazy.

2. Seats

Let me clarify. One a baby is starting to crawl (or trying with ALL of their might to crawl), sitting up alone, and showing more signs of independence the LAST thing they want to do is lay down. They constantly want to sit up & look at the world around them. I picked up the adirondack chair above from Bed, Bath & Beyond yesterday. G liked just sitting in it & looking around. I had it inside for a while, then we went outside.

She also really likes her Bebe Pod. (which is the same thing as the Bumbo)

^the red seat.

I bring it EVERY WHERE. I put her on the counter while I cook, or I put it on the floor while we read books.

She also just enjoys sitting UP in general.

^my little sass

3. Sippy Cups

But not just any sippy cup, the kind with the rubber mouth piece. There are two types that we have- the kind with the hard mouth piece, and the kind with the rubber mouthpiece. The rubber one is more like a bottle nipple. Gabriella actually started drinking water out of these around 4 and 1/2 months. Of course she refuses pumped breast milk in them (little stinker!), but she will chug water in it! I always put ice in the water for her because I think she likes it really cold- it feels good on her gums- with all of the teething going on!

4. BOB Stroller

Seriously, this is a LIFE saver. I use this stroller NON stop. Once in the morning, for my run- usually 6-10 miles- which is where she takes her morning nap & then we use it in the afternoon for our walk- which is usually around 30 minutes. Thankfully Gabriella loves it.

We started playing this new game a couple of weeks ago on our afternoon walk. There is a little window on the top of the stroller that I can see in. I put one of her toys on the top of the window & she looks up at it & starts CRACKING up. It is the BEST!

^ you can see the window above, and one of her crinkly toys in the window- a monkey.

^she tries to get it, and when she can’t she starts laughing

I know these strollers are expensive, but if you are a runner & plan to run with your baby, this stroller is WORTH EVERY PENNY!

5. Walker

^that picture is almost two months old…she can now touch the floor in it.

I know a lot of pediatricians will tell you NOT to get a walker because it causes irregular bone & muscle development. But this walker is actually designed NOT to do that, which is why I bought it. Gabriella loves being in it, for a brief time. This isn’t like the jumperoo, where she will spend a TON of time in, but it is good for a little bit of entertainment. I think once she can really move, it will be more entertaining. But I love that this one has a place on the side to attach additional toys.

6. Soft Cushioning for Floor

Girl is ON THE MOVE! We have hard wood floors, and the thought of Gabriella potentially falling on them is not a pretty picture. We always have her on blankets, but are going to get some foam blocks to cover an area of the floor as well.

7. Spatulas

I know I JUST talked about this, but these spatulas have really helped us with all of the teething. Her little two bottom teeth are JUST about to break through & she is gnawing on EVERYTHING she possibly can. A cold spatula, which she can hold on to herself, is the BEST! She gets all excited when I pull it out of the freezer, it’s adorable.

8. LOTS of Towels/ Wipes

In case you didn’t know, babies are MESSY! They like to feed themselves and it gets EVERYWHERE. Places you would never think you would find baby food, you WILL! Gabriella’s favorite food is sweet potatoes, and heads up…they stain if you don’t wash them out right way. Dreft makes a great stain remover. Once I get G to bed, I end up having to shower again because show how her food ends up all over me as well. It’s lovely

We have towels and wipes EVERYWHERE. Car, diaper bag, strollers, downstairs, upstairs, you get the idea!

9. Books

You already know my experience with the book above! One of my favorite things to do is reading books with G. I put her on my lap & hope I can keep her attention at least for a few minutes. I love the books that are the ‘touch and feel’ ones. She is just now ‘getting’ it- like how she can feel the pages, but mainly she enjoys just chewing on them. (again, the teething monster has arrived in FULL FORCE) I have read that even if they are sort of paying attention to you, babies understand what you are saying. Like they get that you are reading them a book and they ARE actually listening even if it appears they aren’t. (I would love to know who does these studies- haha!)

10. Stuff for Outdoors (Sunscreen, hats, etc)

Babies skin is EXTREMELY sensitive and living in Florida makes it SUPER important to make sure baby is always dressed appropriately. I started using sunscreen on Gabriella right around 4 months. I called the doctor’s office to make sure it was ok, since most sunscreens say wait until 6 months, but they said it was ok to put it on at 4 months.

Another key accessory are hats. Her doctor reminded me at our last appointment how important hats are, especially for babies with light and fine or thin hair like Gabriella has. (she got that from me) She has blonde hair & it’s very fine, so the sun can go right through it.

Hats are very important, not just because she looks adorable in them (if I do say so myself ) but because we have to protect that little head.

Of course I have to end with a funny picture…

A face only a mother could love! And you better believe I went in for a big ol’ kiss! …and then proceeded to clean BOTH of us up.

Hopefully my favorite ten things will help someone else out! If you have anything to add to the list, please feel free!!

05.13.13

by Holly at Everyday's a 'Hollyday'

I’m the Lucky One

Well guys, I must say…This was the BEST Mother’s Day EVER. Wanna know why?? Because I get to be the Mommy to such an AMAZING little girl.

One of my girlfriends had this on her Facebook page & I couldn’t agree more. Gabriella may not be an ‘easy’ baby (is there even such thing as an easy baby?!) – and by that I just mean that she isn’t a fan of taking a bottle, or sleeping many hours at a time – but you know what?? Everything happens for a reason! It must mean that she just needs EXTRA Momma time, and I am 100% OK with that!!

Now, I have to brag on my hubby for a minute. He really is the best.

I was up at 5:30am to feed Gabriella, and was able to rock her back to sleep. (Sometimes she is up for the day at this time) I went back in our room to go to sleep, but was just tossing & turning…I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. I figured I would make the most of my time & asked Craig if he minded if I went to the gym.

He said absolutely not, so I was on my way. (I have a new workout coming your way- arms, abs & calves!) Shortly after me leaving, Gabriella decided that she in fact WAS up for the day…and was ready to get out of her crib.

He took care of her while I was gone, and even sent me a super cute picture of her when he went in to her room to get her.

Once I got back to the house, I was walking up to the door & saw a piece of paper just laying there. I was a bit confused, I thought maybe I had dropped something out of my purse when I was leaving for the gym. Nope. I picked it up…and this is what I found:

I mean really?! Does it get any cuter??

I walked in and he was playing with Gabriella. I sat down & started playing with them, and shortly there after Gabriella ‘gave’ me my Mother’s Day gift.

First was a card ‘signed’ by her. ADORABLE.

And then she ‘handed’ me a small gift box, with a beautiful necklace inside!

Hopefully you can see it, but it is Gabriella’s birth stone- Citrine/ yellow topaz.

I LOVE it! The funny thing is, I’m not a huge jewelry person, but I really had been wanting a new necklace- he did GREAT!! …or I mean Gabriella did GREAT

The rest of the morning was spent hanging out with G, putting her down for a nap & then getting everything ready for brunch!

We also got to Skype with Grandma & PapaNote in Maryland, which Gabriella loved!

Please excuse her bed head look

She is actually starting to ‘understand’ the idea of Skype. Before she would just kind of stare off into space when we had Skype on, but now she ‘gets it.’ She sees the people on the other end of the computer. It’s actually really cool to see her react to it!

Like I said yesterday, I made Sally’s Super Crumb Coffee Cake. YOU GUYS, this recipe is TO.DIE.FOR. Seriously SO GOOD!!!

Look at all of that crumb topping! I did not change a thing from her recipe- just used the standard substitute for buttermilk. (I used Skim milk & white distilled vinegar- did perfectly fine!)

The only weird thing that happened was that the crumb topping ended up falling through on part of the cake. Not sure what I did, but the batter ended up rising above the topping, just on part of it.

Maybe I pressed too hard on it. But you know what? It ended up being a delicious mistake! It was like a little ‘surprise’ when you bit into the cake because from the top you didn’t know what to expect.

This coffee cake was the STAR of the show. I also had blueberry scones & mini bagels, along with a TON of fruit & greek yogurt dip. (I just combined Chobani Strawberry banana & Pineapple- made for quite a tasty dip!)

It was a really fun day, and it was FANTASTIC to be able to spend it with my sister! (& of course my brother in law, nephew & niece as well!)

Our girls are only two and a half months apart!! Craig declared yesterday that the WILL be best friends, no matter what they say!

Nothing better than spending time with family, even as far as Maryland (!!!) & enjoying a day filled with lots of love from little ones. <3

Sometimes I take a step back & am just like, WOW! I’m a MOM!. I don’t know how to describe it. It just kind of ‘hits’ me. Sometimes it’s unreal, but it is the BEST feeling in the WORLD.

Seriously she COMPLETES us. Gabriella is our entire world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

05.12.13

by Holly at Everyday's a 'Hollyday'

‘Brunching’ It

Happy Mother’s Day!!

Happy Mother’s Day Mom, I love you! Not just for what you have done for me, but for loving my daughter just as much…if not more than you love me. I wish we could spend the day together, but we will as soon as you get back in town. <3

Hope you are off to a good start. It’s a girls kind of morning!! Best way to spend Mother’s day is with my little lady!

Gabriella is like her Momma, we have to star the day with our coffee!!

We read some books (not this book, I figure it’s best not to start the day off sobbing ), bounced in her jump a roo, and she’s now crawling around…

but all of her crawling is tiring her out! ^notice that big yawn!

Shortly it will be nap time for G, and while she naps I am going to get everything ready for brunch! My sister, brother in law, nephew & niece are coming over later this morning to celebrate Mother’s day together!! I’m SO excited because we haven’t seen them in what feels like FOREVER!

On the menu (so far) is Sally’s Super Crumb Coffee Cake, (<—Sally NEVER disappoints, so I know we are in for a treat!), Mini blueberry scones, cinnamon twists & fruit with Chobani fruit dip!

I also made a banana bread, which is a recipe that I got off of Courtney’s blog. It happens to be her favorite banana bread recipe. I saw it on one of her posts earlier this week & I couldn’t get it out of my head.

It was funny she happened to write about it, because I had a bunch of browned bananas just sitting on the counter. I ALWAYS have a problem with having way too many bananas.

I am picky about banana and really don’t like when they even have one brown spot on them, believe it or not, I prefer them with a hint of green. Call me crazy..?

Without further ado, here is the recipe- I changed very few things from her original recipe.

Courtney’s Banana Bread

(adapted from Courtney at Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45- 50 minutes
Servings: 10-12

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Truvia baking blend
1 egg
1 egg white
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ground flax seed (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until crumbly, 1-2 minutes. Add egg, then egg white, beating well after each. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Stir in mashed bananas, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & ground flax seed; stir into wet ingredients until just moistened (do not over mix).

Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45- 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Slice and enjoy!

I think this may be my new go-to banana bread recipe! The reason that I enjoyed it so much was that you don’t need any oil, and the sweetners are all natural. I swear you can actually taste the honey in each bite- delicious!

I also had a little helper in the kitchen.

^THIS little lady loves to be in the kitchen whenever I’m cooking. I just put her in her little bumbo seat & she just watches. Let me tell ya, one of the BEST tips I ever got regarding teething was from my sister in law- Stephanie. She told me how much my nephew just loved chewing on a cold spatula. Just put one in the freezer for a bit & then let them bite away!

She pretty much attacks it the minute I hand it to her. It is quite funny.

Enjoy your Sunday, I hope you get to spend it with loved ones. <3

05.10.13

by Holly at Everyday's a 'Hollyday'

Love You Forever

Good Morning & Happy Friday!!!

If you read yesterday’s post, you probably realized that yesterday was pretty rough. Truth be told this week has been pretty rough. We take the bad with the good though, right?

Gabriella just hasn’t been sleeping well at night and she refuses to nap. I mean this girl will fight will all of her might to not nap. Eventually I just give up. I’ll end up getting her & taking her for a run or walk…and to the park. She loves being outside & so do I.

But Wednesday she had her shots, which did not make anything easier. She woke up with a fever yesterday morning- poor little thing. Thankfully I got the fever to break, but we still did a lot of rest, fluids & extra cuddle time.

^how she woke up yesterday, but shortly after this picture is when I discovered the fever

When it was time for her afternoon nap, (I feed her around 12:30pm and she falls asleep on me- and that is how I stay- I LOVE this time, just having her sleep on me for a few hours makes me SO very happy) she just would NOT go to sleep. She was exhausted & rubbing her eyes non stop. She wouldn’t fall asleep on me, so I put her in her crib, turned on her sound machine & hoped for the best.

Well the best didn’t happen. She ended up just crying…and crying. I tried to block it out- at least to see if she would just end up falling asleep because she NEEDED sleep- so I started cleaning to distract myself. After about 10 minutes, she was still crying so I gave up. I went & got her.

I have to admit, I’m NO WHERE near perfect, I was a bit frustrated. I wanted her to nap, not just because I wanted to get some work done, but also because I KNEW she needed sleep.

As soon as I brought her downstairs, I sat her on the floor & grabbed a book to read to her. Then the craziest thing happened…I didn’t even look at the book I grabbed and I just opened it & started reading.

….and then the tears started flowing.

Love You Forever.

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you always,
As long as I’m living,
my baby you’ll be.”

^I think I want to get that saying for her room- I’ve seen a few canvases on Etsy that I like.

Oh.My.Gosh. Have you ever read this book???? I had NEVER read it before. Ever. It is one of the SWEETEST, most heart wrenching children’s books.

There I was sitting on the ground, with Gabriella in my lap just sobbing. Poor girl was looking up at me like, ‘are you ok Mommy?’ It put EVERYTHING into perspective. I told her she could be cranky as much as she wanted to nap, refuse to nap, and keep me up ALL night long. No longer did ANY of that matter. Here I am, the LUCKIEST and most BLESSED Mom. Gabriella is healthy, cute as can be (hey, I may be a bit biased ), and MY daughter!! Sometimes is still amazes me that I’m a MOM..truly the BEST feeling in the world.

I swear there was some divine intervention from the Big Guy upstairs when I grabbed that book yesterday. Gabriella and I BOTH needed that!

Did you have a favorite book as a child?

Moms out there: Favorite book to read to your child?

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Everyday's a 'Hollyday'

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