Jingle our Elf on the Shelf

Jingle's Adventures

         

          



         

Veggie Muffins

I posted a picture today on IG (whitney_collins1) of my new attempt to get Berkley to eat more veggies. 

Veggie Bites

• 1 bag frozen broccoli & cauliflower, steamed & chopped
• 1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 2/3 cup shredded cheddar
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix chopped veggies, bread crumbs, cheese & eggs together until moist and able to form.

Using either a small cookie scoop and place mixture into a mini muffin pan. Cook for approx 10-15min.

What we've been up to lately

We've been super busy the past couple of weeks. Days upon days of crafts, playing & baking! 

I have tried mixing up our crafting sessions...independent painting normally happens only in the bathroom, but I decided to see how well she would do on the kitchen floor. It was quite surprising to see her paint so quietly and so focused.  

Ahhh the joys of baking.I LOVE baking for others & LOVE that Berk can now join me! When things get complicated I simply give her a bowl of water, a whisk and she's quiet for the next two minutes. She then spills the water on purpose and continues to hit her water puddle....kitchen water table...she's so smart!

Let's not forget the most important part of the day..playtime. Ya'll Ben has caved and I will be getting the one thing on my wishlist...a playroom! I am beyond thrilled to have a place just for Berk's toys & a clutter free living space!

               

Christmas pictures and a Little Looker review

I would be lying if I told you that I didn't want our Christmas pictures to be taken by a professional. You know...the big expensive lens, the "tilt your head a little to the right", the perfect lighting, etc... Well, I just wasn't about the ask Ben to take Christmas pictures with a professional, I mean we still have Berk's 1st year pictures to hang up (uh hum Ben). So just like our fall pictures I decided to take matters into my own hands. We had the camera, just needed to work on the outfits & photographer. We decided to go with a red theme. I searched Pinterest for days looking for ideas! Here are some of our favorites that we did not use on our Christmas cards because we do want our family & friends to be surprised when they get their cards.

This is a behind the scene look at how Berk moved our decor! I couldn't stop laughing!

Kali over at Little Looker Shop sent over a gorgeous pair of metallic gold leather moccasins! We absolutely adore them and can't say enough about them! Berk might be surprised with the silver in her stocking as a stuffer! As we all know Berk is a shoe lover! White shoes, brown shoes, pink shoes, any kind of shoes! I thought of Pete the Cat while typing that, and if something doesn't feel right she is sure to let you know!  A perfect fit, super comfortable and they are made for wear outside as well (we all know Berk likes walking up and down the dirt road). With all of the dirt road walking, her moccasins are clean with just a wipe! Wouldn't a mommy & mini pair look great? Maybe an idea Kali!!!

 Thank you so much Kali for allowing us to work with you

Thankful...

I haven't forgotten my blog. I've been focusing more on family time over here especially during the holiday season! We've been spending hours upon  hours learning and exploring over here so during nap time I've been cleaning like a mad woman instead of blogging!  During this season I am thankful for my faith, my family, my health & my friends!

Our weekend

Oh the wonders of what a lazy weekend will do for you. I always start Mondays with a little more energy! 

We have finally reached the ponytail stage (yippee)! This is by far the cutest thing ever. Ponytail & sleepy baby...this mama almost had a tear fall.

 My Amazon subscription came in on Friday & I think Berk was more excited than I was. Seriously mamas, if you haven't checked out Amazon Mom & Amazon Prime...do yourself a favor! Our subscriptions change each month. This month we got Mum Mums, paper towels, B-12 vitamins, diapers & wipes. 5 total items and it's an additional 20% off!

        


My friend and I try to have weekly play dates with our girls. This week we wanted to do Thanksgiving craft. We  She is a teacher and we both LOVE crafts with our little ladies. The girls are so used to getting their tootsies painted that they can't wait to hop into our laps for the painting! It's so much fun!


 

I couldn't help but burst out laughing while taking this picture....she is truly a clown!

And a little Sunday afternoon stroll down the dirt road before Bible drill. 

We hope you had a fabulous weekend too!

Friendsgiving Recipe

Today I tried a trial run of sausage and cheese phyllo cups. My cousin has made them every year for Christmas and I normally eat my wait in them!  

Let's just say that I am disappointed that I will not need to make these again because they were fantastic. Here's the recipe

Preheat oven to 350

1 pack of ground sausage
16 oz cream cheese 
Parmesan cheese
diced jalapeno 
mini phyllo cups

1.  Brown sausage and jalapenos 
2.  Add cream cheese, stir until incorporated
3. sprinkle is desired amount of parm. I would say I used 1/2 cup
4. Scoop mixture into cups
5. Bake for 3-4 minutes



As you can see I am not much of a recipe or correct measurements kind of cooker....use your best judgement. This recipe will also be for kids so I didn't add much jalapeno to it, just enough to give it some flavor. 

I run for...FOOD

A couple weekends ago a few friends from church ran in the Bull City Race Fest 5 miler. This was the first  co-ed race that we've done and it was so nice to have the husbands along! We started our group back in April and we are still going strong! This was after a very hilly & cold 5 miles.

Ben & I don't get the chance very often to run/workout together so it was such a treat to run with him. We are each other's biggest fans!

Food Art

While I was growing up my mama always said "don't play with your food." My how times have changed. As a mom I try to make breakfast, lunch and dinner an enjoyable experience for Berk. She's not the best eater so I would say that I go above and beyond with allowing her to play with her food and making eating fun! This past week we had a cold & rainy day so we had to stay in. I had seen on pinterest a couple pictures of yogurt art so I knew it was the perfect time!


           


Ingredients:
*  yogurt
*  food coloring (I used the basic 4 colors, but you can always turn this into a secondary color project!)
Note: I used Greek yogurt for added protein

Seperate yogurt into 4 small bowls, add a drop of food coloring and stir. I scoop the yogurt out onto Berk's highchair after mixing. 

Berkley absolutely loved this sensory/food art activity! Mama loved it even more because she had fun and had a little more protein added to her diet!

 

Towards the end I gave her a baking spatula to mimic a paint brush. This activity is definitely a keeper. We hope that you and your little ones enjoy it too!

weekends

Another weekend has come and gone :( I live for the weekends! Lazy Saturdays and family filled fun! Every now and then I empty the toy basket to keep Berk occupied for a couple minutes. When I start to turn the basket over her face lightens up like it's Christmas morning anyone else already thinking about Christmas?  

This picture is pretty special huh? Purse on shoulder and arm in the air. She loves putting things in her purse and taking them out. She has her own makeup brush, tube of lip gloss (just for pretend) and comb. She so big!

Saturday I clocked in my last long run before my half on Sunday. I love running, but hate training. On my last mile I decided to run after these two in our back yard. Ben kept yelling to run faster and Berk kept waving. I didn't know whether to scream at Ben because, obviously I was tired or to laugh at Berkley. The joys of being a wife & mom.

Can't leave you hanging without this cutie! I'm a sucker for festive pajamas and rainboots!

Being my mini me

Sunday mornings the devil is in full action. Seriously! It's always rush, rush. I have to look presentable, which means no yoga pants, and worry about Ben & Berkley too!

 I am TYPE A. I will not admit it.  I am always the first to rise and I don't stop until I am in the pew at church. On this certain Sunday morning it was as though God knocked on my heart. I was in the midst of putting my boots on I hear the shoes knock over in the closet  just another mess to clean up. Before I could zip up my last boot, Berkley came running into the bathroom with a pair of my shoes. She quietly sat down across from me and pretended to put my shoes on (insert heartbreak). At that moment, I stopped rushing, sat down and spent a mere minute helping my daughter put my shoes on. I screamed for me to grab the camera so that I could capture this unforgettable moment. 

It's funny how life can try to get in the way at times. I am DETERMINED to focus on my family & my faith. I can't get these moments back, I will savor them FOREVER. 

Meal Planning Monday

B is currently napping, clothes are in the washer and I am taking a few minutes to meal plan for the week! Here's what I came up with. Link are provided below to all of the recipes.

Monday: Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 4 cups rice, prepared
• ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked (I recommend using slow cooker teriyaki chicken)
• 1 cup peas & carrots, frozen
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce

Instructions

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 4 cups cooked rice.
2. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
3. Add onion, garlic, peas, and carrots. Stir fry until tender.
4. Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables.
5. Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce to pan. Stir in soy sauce and remove from heat.

tuesday: Chicken in a basil cream sauce

wednesDAY: Tomato Basil Parm soup

ThursDAY: BBQ Tacos

sunDAY: stew

Little Cowgirl

Years ago when my nieces were born, my parents bought a horse. My parents have had racing horses for as long as I can remember and wanted their love my dad's love of horses to rub off on them a little. Berkley is my "little cowgirl". She adores "Moose". She calls her horse by his name and other horses "horse". Such a smart baby. Now when she sees a real moose, I'm not sure what we will do!

 

We take a couple trips out to the stable a day so that she can see & feed him. She loves feeding her carrots because she can hold them by the end, unlike apples. She does not like feeding him apples, because he has to go straight to her hand. Yes this frightens me a little, but he is so wonderful with children.

After a visit, we normally go on a walk. By walk I mean our driveway. The one bad thing about living in a rural area, no walking trails :(

Berkley is in love with the movie Spirit. She screams at it for about a minute then it's on to playing!

Reality of a SAHM

 When I first found out that I was pregnant we were beyond thrilled! I have always loved children, which is why I decided to become a teacher. We found out that we were pregnant in my 2nd year of teaching Kindergarten and I taught throughout the entire year. I was due in July and finished out the year strong tired. Ben and I had a couple conversations throughout my pregnancy about returning to work once we moved back to my home town and I was all for it. After all, I had heard too many stories of SAHM depression, exhaustion, etc. At that moment in my life I said, "Berk will be fine in a daycare, most kids do it", " I just love teaching", "I know that I will need a break".

 Before continuing I know at this point someone has something negative to say. It's ok, it's life. I understand that everyone isn't the same. I applaud WAHM and working moms. I mean seriously that is one of the reasons I chose to stay home, because you guys are like superwoman! 8-5 job, house cleaned, laundry folded, dinner cooked, etc.

 Back to my story... I had every intention of going back to work when the year started in August. Berkley was 8 weeks old which is the normal maternity leave, and I thought by then everything would be set. I started out in August and gave my notice of leaving in late September. I was stressed out to the max. Pumping every 2 hours, calling to make sure Berkley was eating properly, functioning on 4 hrs of sleep, etc. If you are a mom reading this then you may or may have not gone through this. Again this is my story. I was drained by the time I got home!

These some of the reasons we decided that maybe it would work better if I were at home with Berkley. Those reasons aren't the main reason though. The main reason I decided to become a SAHM was so that I...
( it is so tempting to google "why be a stay at home mom" so that this sounds so professional but I'm not) 

~watch her grow
~love her
~teach her about the love of Christ
~help spark her curosity 
~explore with her
~learn more about her
~read her favorite book 10 times,
~allow her to play freely,
~let her ride the vaccum as I use it
~have dance parties 
~push her in her baby doll stroller
~pick flowers with her
~take her to the library
~play dates
~sitting on the floor in the bathroom helping her imitate mommy with the hair brush and makeup brushes
~thousands of kisses & hugs
~playing games

If you think being a SAHM is about having a clean house, being well dressed, having a gourmet meal for dinner and spending hours at the gym it's safe to say that you are WRONG. My house is a mess  learning environment right now, I haven't thought about dinner yet and if I do it's probably going to be a crock pot kind of day, I don't have a gym membership and if I do workout it's at home for about 30 minutes, if I am lucky! This is my reality & I LOVE IT.

Five on Friday

[ONE]

It's Friday....WHOOP WHOOP! I am beyond thrilled to be traveling with a groups of women from my church to the "Women of Faith" conference this weekend! I sure am going to miss my Ben & Berk.

[TWO]

We are loving this beanbags! I used them in my kindergarten classroom and brought them out a couple weeks ago! We have been working on our color words & color sorting. If you have an older toddler you can use them to practice the upper & lowercase letter!

                       [THREE]

If you haven't noticed yet, I am a lover of holidays and having a little girl only makes them a little more festive! I saw this witch hat over on Etsy and fell in love! Marie was so sweet & so wonderful to work with! You must visit her shop ASAP!

                          [FOUR]

I made a Tomato,Basil & Parmesan Frittata earlier this week and it rocked! I've made it a couple times and it never disappoints! 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

You'll need:
8 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c chopped prosciutto {or if your fridge is really fancy like mine, chopped ham}
1/2 c grated parmesean
1/2 c halved cherry tomatoes {though I like to use a whole cup because Everett digs these when they're cooked}
1/4 c fresh basil {It has to be fresh for this one, the dried basil just floats on the top}
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Whisk eggs and milk together in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. Spray pie dish with cooking oil, and pour the ingredients into the dish. Cook 25-35 minutes. 

                [FIVE]

 Looking back on our 1st pumpkin patch visit with Berk last year is making me so sad! Seriously I can't remember how tiny she was!