TERRIFYING TELEVISION

Lately I fiind a lot of "horror" movies to be kind of hokey. That or I am to scared to watch them anymore because watching the movie The Strangers has ruined my tolerance for them. That movie is crazy scary. "Is Tamra home?" Tell me you know what I am talking about??

Anyway, I was really suprised after so many hokey horror movies that a television show of all things could be so spooky and scary. The show is American Horror Story. Did anybody watch it? The series premiere was on last week. Kenny and I turned off all the lights and watched it together. And boy did it deliver. We are totally hooked. Parts of it were weird and maybe a little crazy in the head. Can't wait to watch this week's episode. Wednesday Night on FX.

WEEKEND RECAP

Kenny was out of town a good bit of this past weekend going to a concert and for business. But he and I did take Elle to the zoo last week together and I need to do a post on that.

On Friday morning I met up with some friends at Memphis Botanic Gardens for a stroll and to let the babies crawl around at My Big Backyard. It is a little old for Elle but we enjoyed being outside and seeing all the pretty flowers and oh my goodness she is going to love love love the children's section when she gets a little bit older.

When we got home from that Elle was wiped out and I was beat to. I ended up sleeping when Elle was napping for both of her naps that day. That is unusual for me. I thought it was just allergies and being out in the heat. On Friday night, Elle and I went to my friends house for margaritas and fajitas. It was a fun low key night.

On Saturday I woke up feeling like poo. This was my first time to be sick since having Elting and let me tell you having a baby and being sick is H-A-R-D. Thankfully, Kenny arrived home Saturday night because by Sunday I was to sick to even get out of bed. And now, Monday, I have still spent the day in bed. Kenny has been so amazing and has been taking care of Elle all day every day the past two days and letting me stay in the bed and try to get better. We have both decided that it is better for me not to kiss her or hold her and that part is killing me. But I would hate for her to feel as terrible as I have felt. I am truly blessed to have a husband who is able to move his work schedule around and be Mr. Mom for a couple days and Elle has absolutely loved all the time with her daddy. Can't wait to get to those cheeks tomorrow though!

Despite being sick I did manage to make dinner last night because I had already done the preparation on Saturday. I found this recipe on Pinterest for a Spinach, Chicken Pasta Bake and it so good! We are eating leftovers tonight and I am excited. I am hoping I will be able to taste it more tonight. Here is the recipe. I definitely recommend it. Tasty and easy!

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake
8 oz uncooked rigatoni
1 T olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed
3 c cubed, cooked chicken breasts
1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese
½ t salt, ½ t pepper
1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare rigatoni according to pkg directions. Spread oil on bottom of 11x17 in baking dish; add onion in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to large bowl, set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Stir in rigatoni, spinach, chicken, & next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl. Spoon mixture into dish & sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

FOTO FRIDAY

The other day the weather was so nice. So Elle and I were playing with toys in the backyard when Daddy came home. So we hung out as a family for a little bit before dinner time. As always these pictures were taken with an iPhone. So pardon the blurriness.

NEW FAVE ALERT

While I wasn't really planning on picking up a lot of new shows this fall, the exact opposite has happened. On top of the huge amount of reality television I DVR (which is the only way I can keep up with it all) I am actually watching a lot of comedies and dramas.

To name a few of the new ones:

Up All Night

New Girl

Terra Nova

(yes I am serious) Husband wanted to watch this one. He so rarely asks to watch a show so we always watch if he requests something. Poor thing though. EVERY SINGLE TIME he picks a show it gets cancelled. Sometimes halfway through the season. I joke with him he is the kiss of death for shows. Ha.

But my absolute new fave is Revenge!

My sister told me I needed to get on this bandwagon right away after last week. So I watched the first episode on Hulu and then the new episode last night. I am seriously loving it. I hope it stays as stellar as it is. I tend to love shows in the beginning and then after a couple of seasons I stop believing the plot lines and get tired of them. (Greys Anatomy cough cough) So fingers crossed. Loving all the pretty people and that it is based in the Hamptons.

MOMMY STRUGGLES

I struggle with talking to much about being a mom on this blog. It is not always exciting to read about some one's kid every single day. But at the same time, this blog is about my/our life and if I am not talking about being a mom then this blog isn't our life. So I thought it would be interesting one day to look back on this blog and see the things that I was battling with on a daily basis and maybe my few readers might identify with my struggles (silly they may be)also. So here goes.

TV.

Yep. Huge inner battle for me. It is definitely not a secret that I really really love tv. And sometimes the trashier the better. However, I WILL NOT allow my kids to watch trashy television or movies. When Elle reaches the age where she has even the slightest clue as to what is going on the television, it will never be on anything that is not age appropriate for her. This week I am making a point to have the tv off most of the day while she is playing. I normally have it on for me but I read something recently that the tv being on doesn't let them completely pay attention to their play. So bad. I guess.

But that brings me to my other problem. Allowing your children/baby to watch television or not or how much . You read all of these things that say that tv hampers development and is over stimulating. And I think that is true to a degree. But we watched television and I know lots of kids that watch tv and are great kids. When it comes to letting Elle watch television and movies I find that my wanting her to watch things is nostalgic. I grew up watching Sesame Street and still enjoy watching it with Elle. I cannot WAIT to watch The Little Mermaid with her and Beauty and the Beast.

Right now she is still very little. But I will say that Kenny and I will watch Sesame Street or Barney with her. Kenny likes to watch Mickey Mouse Club with her. She might watch a half hour to an hour a day if any at all. Always educational and age appropriate. But is that to much. Ugg!!! I go back and forth.

So there it is. One of my daily/mommy guilt struggles.

RELAXING AND A WOOPS!

Kenny and I decided at the last minute not to go to Starkville for the game. After last weekend we weren't going to try and take Elle in again. We will try again for a day game if we have one. But right now it is just not a good idea when the kick off times are PAST her bedtime.

Anywho, I have to admit I was pretty pumped to be staying at home and relaxing. Looking at our calendar, Kenny and I have not been at home at the same time during a Saturday in months. Craziness!

Saturday morning, I had an appointment at a local spa for a pedicure and a Swedish massage and I could not wait. I was finally going to get to use the gift certificate that my coworkers gave me as a shower gift. I never got to use it because I went into labor on the same day they gave it to me. Wop wop wop.

So the pedicure is great and the massage is freaking amazing. Oh my gosh it was good. I love love love massages so much. (Side note: the massage therapist told me I hold all my stress in my butt. So weird) I get up after the massage is over all woozy and feeling great, walk to the counter to pay with my gift certificate. Give the gift certificate to the girl at the desk. She looks at it and says, "umm this is for the XXXXX Spa?" What the heck!!!! I was at the wrong spa!!! Seriously??? I cannot believe that. So I laughed it off and gave her my credit card. Cringing inside because I had totally not planned on spending $150 that morning. Gah Mallory!! Attention to detail!! Attention to detail. Had I even read the gift certificate? Yes! My brain just does not work anymore. So the spa was wonderful this morning and I still have a gift certificate to use. I deserved a little pampering right?

Since we had planned on going to Starkville for the game I had this adorable little outfit made for Elle so I had to let her wear it when we went to a restaurant to watch the State game. We won but my Dawgs have some serious work to do. Yikes!

Tortellini Tomato Soup

Sunday I made monkey bread for breakfast which Kenny and I decided that I can no longer make because it is so good and so bad for you and we could not stop eating it all day. And then for dinner I made this Tortellini Tomato Soup that I pinned on Pinterest. It was really yummy. I of course doubled the recipe and it made a TON. So I froze some for another quick dinner.

TO DIE FOR QUICHE!

For the little Baptism brunch we had at the house after the service last week I made two quiches that were sooooo good. This was my first time to ever make a quiche and boy were they delicious. I was pretty proud of myself.

The first quiche was a spinach and gruyere quiche. I found it on this blog. Here is the recipe.

Spinach Gruyere Quiche
Serves 4 -6

Ingredients

1 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup thinly sliced shallots
4 large eggs
1¼ cups heavy cream
pinch ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup grated Gruyere
1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung free of water*

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 minutes. Prick bottom and sides all over with a fork. Bake on center rack until fully cooked and lightly golden, between 10-15 minutes depending on the brand. (Keep an eye on it...if it puffs up while cooking, gently prick it with a fork so it will deflate.) Set aside and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

2. Heat butter in a small saute pan over medium-low heat. Cook shallots until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper.

3. Place cooked pie shell on a baking sheet (this makes it easy to move in and out of oven). Spread shallots over bottom of cooked crust, then sprinkle grated Gruyere over top. Scatter spinach evenly over cheese (breaking up clumps as best you can), then pour egg mixture over top.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes until custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.

The second quiche was a Ham and Bacon quiche similar to one that I had at a friends house. It was equally delicious. The two together offered a great variety for everyone.

Ham and Bacon Quiche
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup baked ham cubed
1 cup bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup onion chopped
1 cup Swiss cheese shredded
6 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 – 9" pie shell unbaked

Oven Temp: 425º reduced to 350º
Recipe Cooking Time: 1 hour
Pan Type: quiche pie pan

Quiche Recipe Directions
Preheat your oven.
Bake quiche pie shell at 425° for 8 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°. Layer the quiche pie shell with the cheddar cheese, ham, bacon, parmesan cheese, onion and Swiss cheese.
Beat the eggs until frothy, add milk, salt, pepper and beat again. Pour eggs over the ham and bacon pie filling.
Place ham and bacon quiche onto a cookie sheet and bake until set. Let quiche stand 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.

CHILD OF GOD

On Sunday we had Elle baptized in the church I grew up in and by the minister who was my youth director and also married Kenny and I. Our sanctuary is under renovation so they are having the service in the newly renovated fellowship right now.

Kenny's parents drove up from Fairhope and Elle was so blessed to have a lot of her family there for this great day!

Getting Elle dressed in one of the preschool rooms.

We were so nervous that Elle was going to scream at two things. The water and then Eddie taking her because she is having some stranger anxiety but she did great. Even sat through the rest of the church service quietly. Yay!

Elle, Kenny, me and Eddie

We did not have a baptismal gown in the family so I had one custom made for her by this seller on Etsy and I absolutely love it! She did such a fantastic job. And she also asked that I send her the slip back so that she can embroider Elle's initials and baptism date. We will continue to do this as the gown is passed around and down through the family and I love that thought.

Had to include this picture because my mom's TV died and my uncle just was not having it so he surprised her with a new one before we went to church Sunday morning. So of course Kenny had to check out some Sunday football on it when we got home. Priorities people!

My mom and I prepared a simple brunch of quiche and strawberry goat cheese salad for everyone. My aunt brought this amazing caramel cake all the way from Atlanta that reminded me of Minnie's caramel cake in The Help. It was so good and I am going to share the quiche recipes with you tomorrow because it was my first time to make quiche and they were awesome.

MEET THE FAM

I interrupt the regularly scheduled programming to announce that a picture of Elting was featured on my favorite baby blog today!

Spearmint Baby

On with the show....

On Friday morning after stopping at City Bagel for lunch (of course) we headed to Hattiesburg. My aunt and uncle were coming in town from Atlanta. This would be the first time they met Elting, their great niece. It is still kind of weird for them to hear us call her Elting because the name is my mother's maiden name and their last name. And it is an unusual name, especially to hear it used as a first name.

One of my mom's best friends, Susan and her husband, Dennis, were kind of enough to host all of us at their house for a shrimp boil. Dennis is from the coast and bought the shrimp that day. They were incredible. I am so sad because I am realizing I did not get a picture of Susan and Dennis. But the dinner was so much fun.

My Aunt Pam and Uncle Mike

Uncle Mike and Elting were good friends by the end of the weekend.

Had to include this picture from Saturday morning. This was my high chair as a little girl. My mom pulled it down from the attic and is going to keep it at her house for us to use. It is still to big for Elle but it did the job. She will have plenty of time to grow into it.

BABY'S FIRST GAME

Oh my gosh we have been so busy and I have so many things to blog about. We headed out of town this weekend for our first home football game against LSU and then headed to Hattiesburg where all of our family came in town to see Elting be baptized. So since there is so much to talk about and so many fun pictures I am going to break it all up into separate posts.

First off STARKVEGAS BABY!! We were so excited to take Elle to her very first game and it was a biggy. The bulldogs were facing off against LSU. After our sad loss against Auburn we were hoping for a win!

On Thursday we woke up and a cold front had moved through and it turned out to be very chilly. All the things I had brought for Elle "just in case" it was a little cool I ended up putting on her. Everyone was supposed to wear white and luckily I had brought a pullover because by game time it was freezing!

My BFF Megan who is due January 8 with her own little baby. Cannot wait!

One of our silly attempts to get Elle to nap at the tailgate.

Sisters!

Not sure what to think about this tailgating business.

We were anxious to see how Elle did at the game. The answer...not so great. We had a lot of things working against us. Kick off was at 7:30 and that is PAST her bedtime. So she was exhausted despite our attempts to try and get her to nap at the tailgate. Ha yea right! And the game was so loud, even though we had ear plug in her ears. She cried the entire first quarter and then we left. We ended up watching the game in the Alumni Center where it was very warm. Elle ended up staying up the rest of the game and playing, having the best time. We were sad we did not win. But still so excited for the rest of the season.

All bundled up in her tights that were waaaay to big, turtlneck and coat. It was cold!!

She fell asleep while we were walking off campus to our condo. So sweet. Poor tired baby.

THE SONG

Does this happen to yall.....you just become totally obsessed with a song? Every once and a while there is a song that has me listening to it on repeat, looking up the lyrics so that I can sing every single word right along with the artist. You listen to the radio just praying that song will come on so you can belt it out. Kind of reminds me of when I was in 7th grade and I would call the radio station and request The Fugees Killing Me Softly and wait for them to play it. Then I could quickly hit record on my boom box and have it on a cassette tape. YES!

This is THAT song for me right now. I know everyone feels this way because Adele is just huge right now. Never mind that, this song makes me wish just a smidge that I was back in my angsty heart broken days so I could pretend this song was about "us."And do not even pretend that you didn't do that!

Oh well, I will settle for literally belting it out to myself on a daily basis during our morning walks. People probably think I am bonkers.

WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE- HOORAY

Last week I stepped on the scale and miracle of miracles I saw the pre-baby number on the scale!! The pre-baby number!! And then a couple days later it was 2lbs under the pre-baby number!! I am beyond thrilled. Those last 5lbs had been stubborn suckers. I still want to continue to lose and would like to lose at least another 10lbs.

So what have I been doing? I owe it all to that wonderful jogging stroller. I walk everyday at least 3 miles but usually 4 or more. After my Labor Day weekend binge the weather was so nice that I walked up to 8 one day. With the walking I have found that I can pretty much eat what I want in moderation and continue to lose weight.

I will be sure to keep all my devoted readers updated on my progress. (wink, wink)

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Kenny has been out of town a lot lately for business. And I am one tired out momma. So when our friends Joe and Tracy invited us to their lake house for the holiday weekend we were excited to go. Only thing was...we didn't feel right about asking my sister to babysit the entire weekend. Kenny, wanting some daddy daughter time proposed that I head to the lake and spend some time with friends and he would hang out and keep Elle for the weekend.

Our entire family had the best weekend! I headed to the lake with Tracy Saturday morning to meet Joe and his parents and our girlfriend Rebekah and we were out on the water by that afternoon. Kenny loaded up Elle and took her to the zoo for her first time. They had a great time and I got lots of pictures!

Seeing Mommy's favorite. The elephants!

Panda bear was just passed out right next to the glass. Kenny had to get a picture.

After the seeing all the animals and even catching a sea lion show, Elting was worn out.

Back at the lake a little tropical storm named Lee was putting a damper on our plans of getting a good tan. When we woke up Sunday morning we could tell we weren't going to see the sun that day. So we spent the entire day snuggled up inside eating, watching girly movies, eating some more, drinking, eating and watching more movies. It was a smidge disappointing for everyone else because it was the last weekend of the "summer" but it was PURE HEAVEN to me to do absolutely nothing. At one point on Sunday I was in a recliner and felt drowsy so I rolled over and took a nap. HEAVEN I tell you.

We also played beauty parlor. Tracy had watched a YouTube video on how to do fish tail braids so she practiced on my hair because I L-O-V-E for people to play with hair.

Not a bit of make up in this picture and we wore yoga pants and tshirts all weekend.

Despite having gained a few pounds from all the junk we ate. I came home from the weekend feeling the most rested I have felt in a very long time and grateful for some down time and girl talk. And it was a HUGE bonus that I knew my little girl was so happy to spend so much time with her daddy. She is obsessed with him and totally smitten with him. It is so cute!

She looked this happy in every picture Kenny sent me this weekend.

BOYS OF FALL

It's that time of year and I could not be more thrilled. Kenny and I are so excited to be season ticket holders again for this football season and are loving all the excitement surrounding Mississippi State right now!

Life is about to get so crazy with all the traveling for home games plus everything else we have going on. We are planning on taking Elting to a lot of the games and seeing how it goes. I am praying that if we are laid back about it all that we all can have a good time. We could be totally out of our minds.

This past Thursday night the Bulldogs came to our hometown to give a beating to the Memphis Tigers. So Kenny and I went to the game with friends. Of course we had to make sure Elle was sporting maroon and white for her first game ever. And of course we had to get a family picture of this momentous occasion.

The game was so so so hot and kind of slow because the Tigers didn't put up much of fight. In typing this I just realized that we will be playing the Tigers for three games in a row. Memphis, Auburn and LSU. Hopefully we win against all those kitty cats!

GO DAWGS!!

ANOTHER YEAR OLDER

Yesterday was my birthday. And my new age makes me feel old. Because it so close to one that really makes me feel old! Sorry if that sounds ambiguous. I just still feel like a kid, or least a college kid. Ha! But I am not a college kid. I have a child of my own. I am a grown up!

However I will say that when I was younger and I thought about the future and this age my life is exactly where I thought it would be. Happily married, babies, a home, friends, jobs, family. It is a good life. A life where birthdays shouldn't be a depressing thing but a pat on the back and a chance to step back and appreciate everything our little family has achieved.

So it is only appropriate that yesterday was a great day. Elle and I met up with a close friend for a fabulous patio lunch. My sweet little elderly neighbor brought me a happy along with farmers market veggies and a birthday cake. I am having a veggie night! Can't wait to slather those maters with some mayo and cracked pepper. Kenny sent me flowers. Everyone I care about called me to wish me a happy birthday. Then ended the day with drinks, a delicious dinner and desserts with girlfriends on another patio.(Even blew out a candle in some creme brulee!) And finally came home to thank my amazing sister for babysitting and letting me go out with my friends and kissed my little girl good night. Outside of Kenny having to be out of town yesterday for business and not getting to spend the day with him it was one of the best birthdays I have had in a while.

FOTO FRIDAY

Apologies for the blurry picture. But these two were just looking so sweet in their matching pink and of course my iPhone is what I had. Love this picture though!

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

So during my unofficial blogging hiatus I decided that Elle and I needed to try and get out of the house more. She likes being out of the house and it makes me feel better to. So I decided to start going for a walk everyday. Only problem is it so hot out right now. So I feed Elle in the morning and then we get ready and go before it gets to hot.

For a while I was just pushing Elle in her car seat and her snap and go stroller and it was fine. But all this walking helped me break my weight loss plateau!!! My body just seemed to want to keep those last 5lbs but now I am 1lb away from pre-pregnancy weight and I of course want to keep losing after I hit that pre-pregnancy weight.

So it was time for something more long term when it came to strollers. I had gone back and forth on purchasing a jogging stroller but my birthday is in a few days and literally the only thing I could think that I wanted (besides sleep, relaxation and some me time) was a jogging stroller. Times have changed!!

Looking at strollers I could not justify the price of the BOB stroller so I ended up choosing this beauty. The Scwhinn Turismo Single Stroller with the swivel wheel. My mom and sister graciously gave it to me for my birthday. And I am obsessed. I love it so much!!!Compared to the snap and go I was pushing it is like walking on air. It moves and turns so easily and Elle is much more comfortable and cooler. Even Kenny seemed impressed by the sheer amazingness of this stroller. When it gets cooler I hope to go out a couple times a day.

MOTHER OF THE YEAR - INSTALLMENT 1

I am saying Installment 1 because I am sure there are bound to be more instances where I try and beat myself up for something I did or didn't to. Elle has a long life ahead of her so stay tuned for more installments and feel free to laugh at me like I have learned to laugh at myself.

Yesterday I had Elle down on the floor and on her mat for some play time. I will sitting right next to her piddling on the computer. I was handing her toys and talking to her while she played.

I must of looked away for a second and then my phone rang and it was my mom. Leaning over to grab my phone and say hello I see it...

A HUGE HUGE SPIDER ON ELLE. HUGE! She had spit up on her outfit earlier so I had changed her into this little pale pink cotton onesie. And the stark contrast of that sweet little onesie and that wretched spider just hanging out on her belly. So I have my phone to my ear with my mother on the other end and I am fa-reaking out.

Luckily I managed to think fast. I grabbed a stack of post it notes nearby and brushed the spider off of Elle and then squashed it. I immdiately stripped her and checked all over her body for any bites. And thank goodness there were not any.

So now I am just having these horrible flash back images of that spider on her. And yes we get our house sprayed and our house does not have a bug problem. I have no idea where that spider came from and I shudder to think how long it crawled around near her.

The funniest thing about it. When I looked down and saw that spider she looked right back up at me all doe eyed with those big blue eyes and smiled. Had absolutely no idea that nasty old bug was on her.

WEEKEND UPDATE AND SNEAK PEAKS!

Yea I know July 22 was a looooong time ago. Anywho! Kenny and I had a fun weekend. He has been out of town so we wanted to be sure to spend some quality time together and with Elle.

Friday night we ordered pizza in and snuggled up on the couch to watch Source Code. And it was good. So good I actually stayed awake for the entire thing which is highly unusual for me.

On Saturday my lovely sister was nice enough to babysit her niece and let Kenny and I go see a movie. We chose Horrible Bosses. Everyone had been talking about how hilarious it was. And to me it was just okay. I think part of the problem was I was sitting next to some much older people and they kept shifting uncomfortably because the movie is extremely vulgar. So that made me self conscious to. Does that ever happen to anyone else?

On Sunday I went for a long hot walk (more on my walking to come. I ordered a jogging stroller AND I have broken my losing plateau!!!) and then Kenny and I went for late lunch/early dinner before coming home to watch all of our Sunday night TV.

So we were so excited to see our sneak peak of Elle's six month photo shoot by the fabulous Molly at Good Golly Photography was posted last night. I love the pictures and cannot wait to see more!