My PB + J

birthday party date

On Saturday we had a birthday party to attend. The party was for my high school friend, Tawny’s four-year-old daughter, Mary. I had not seen Tawny since her wedding six years ago, which just seems crazy because it was like no time had gone by at all. For my gift to Mary I baked her Hello Kitty themed cupcakes. Since I had been up late and then woke-up fairly early to take a class at The Dailey Method I decided to only take Payton to the party. While I felt guilty for leaving the little guy at home with daddy I knew it would be good for Payton to have a solo mommy trip. 
When we arrived at the party I quickly caught up with Tawny’s family, setup the cupcakes and Payton was swiftly whisked off by Mary. They were so cute together, holding hands, sharing toys and enjoying fluffy pink cotton candy before any of the guests arrived. They soon moved on to the huge blow-up water slide and slowly Payton moved to the pool as she was outnumbered by fifteen or so four-year-olds. We enjoyed lots of skittles, a cheeseburger, a cupcake and then we left the party after dealing with the 100º+ weather for three hours. 

We chatted, we sang and mostly enjoyed one another’s company. We made a quick pit stop in Temecula to meet my sister to look for our wig pub crawl ensembles. Payton loved walking around the mall without the stroller, without her brother and pretty much just like a big kid. We held hands and went up and down the escalator a half a dozen times before looking for outfits. She would giggle and give her fashionista opinion on my fickle ideas for the LMFAO inspired wig crawl this weekend. The best part about the day was that there wasn’t any breakdowns when asked to leave the party, mall or Hobby Lobby. She went along for the ride and we enjoyed ourselves. We were gone for over eight hours and at the end of the night she asked for me to come lay with her. Of course I couldn’t resist one last snuggle for the day and then she squeezed me a little tighter and said, “mommy, thank you for today. The birthday party was so fun. I love you.” I love these moments and I will cherish them. It isn’t everyday we get solo mommy/daughter dates.

Payton loved picking clothes out for me. She is my biggest fan as I am hers. Above she is trying on the dress she wanted me to purchase. 

hullabaloo family arts festival {giveaway winner}

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. The winner of the giveaway will receive:

  • one Family Pack of tickets, good for up to 5 people (children under 1 year are free)
  • A Clif Kid goodie bag
  • A free pass to Mon Petit Chateau, good for a one-day visit, up to three children (siblings only)
  • one $50 gift card to Renewal By Andersen Windows
  • 1 pass to Smart Kids Time, courtesy of SoCal Kids San Diego
  • 1 family pass to the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre, also courtesy of SoCal Kids San Diego
  • $20 of babysitting services from Urban Sitter!
 The winner was chosen via random.org. 
Congrats Janelle! Please e-mail me to claim your gift pack! 

 

For those who did not win, and trust me I wish I could give tickets to everyone there is still time to get your tickets!  


The important details:

Date: Saturday, September 22nd
Time:  11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location:  Liberty Station NTC Promenade, also know as the North Promenade
Admission:  $7 per person; children under the age of 1 are free; 
Family Pack of tickets: $20 for up to five family members total! The family pack can only be purchased the day of. 


Purchase tickets here. If you order your tickets in time you will be sent a wristband in the mail so that you can “waltz right in” to the event. How convenient! 

pûrICE soothing teething ring {nûby mommy blogger review

One of the amazing perks of being a Nûby Mommy Blogger is that my family gets to review amazing  Nûby products! Over the next few months I will be sharing these products with you. For my fourth review I would like to introduce you to the pûrICE soother teething ring. 

One of the worries we had for Brayden being a cleft baby was whether or not he would have all of his teeth. He started showing signs of teething around four months just like his sister but at six months there still weren’t any teeth. Of course, we were worried but every child is different so we waited and waited. Finally, at eight-and-a-half months his first top tooth came in. It didn’t take long for the next six to come in. During this time he showed very little distress that his teeth were coming in, we’re not going to complain about this at all! But, of course, there were days where he needed a little soothing for his swollen gums. Cue the Nûby pûrICE soother teething ring. 


The Nûby pûrICE soother teething ring is just what Brayden needs to help relieve his swollen gums. The soother ring provides a cool textured surface for baby to bite and teethe safely. The raised offset surface was designed to assist in the eruption of teeth by gently massaging their gums. What we love about this teether is that it stays colder longer because of the pûrICE. Most teething rings are filled with water, they begin to sweat and go warm after just a few minutes. This teething ring stays cold for about twenty-minutes and it doesn’t sweat. This is a huge plus for us and honestly why I strayed away from teething rings for so long with Brayden. I cannot recommend this teething ring enough for teething babies. 

Do you have a little that’s teething? Are you looking for a great addition to a baby shower gift? Then look no further! You can purchase this product and many other Nûby products from: www.buybabydirect.com & www.walmart.com. 
disclaimer: I received  the product listed above for review purposes only. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own and I only recommend products that I would personally use or believe my readers would enjoy. 

banana & nutella cupcakes {recipe}

While we were in NYC my goal was to go on a cupcake tour. Well, that necessarily didn’t happen but we did manage to stumble upon Billy’s Bakery after our tapas dinner in Chelsea. The shop was so cute and the pastries that were offered were right up the line of what I would serve in my dream bakery. I wanted to order a few but I only ordered a banana cupcake with nutella buttercream. I have been thinking of that cupcake ever since and decided to whip up a dozen for our last minute Labor Day barbecue. I started off with this banana cake recipe. I ditched my go-to recipe because my original goal was to bake a cake but time got away from me. Plus, I love checking “to-bake” recipes off of my Pinterest board. The cake is to-die for, like seriously, to-die for. I wanted nutella buttercream to top the delicately moist cake but I wanted my version to taste more like nutella vs. Billy’s not-so-nutella. The recipe for my nutella buttercream is below. In the words of my two-year-old, “Seriously?!…So yummy!”

Nutella Buttercream
(recipe makes enough for one dozen cupcakes)

1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Nutella
1 pound powdered sugar
1/4 cup half & half (whipping cream or milk works as well)

Cream together the butter and nutella, slowly add in the powdered sugar. Once combined add the half & half. Beat the frosting for roughly five minutes. The frosting should be pale brown, light and airy. If the frosting is still too thick add in additional milk until you achieve the consistency you are looking for. Decorate how you desire.

it’s a weekly thang {weigh-in wednesday}

Hi, do you remember when I told you back in June that I was taking some time off of my weekly weigh-ins? Well, that happened and now I am back to share the final leg of my weight-loss journey. Since January 3rd I have lost a total of twenty-four pounds and enough inches that I’m embarrassed to even document them again. I maintained my current weight over the Summer but with the help of The Dailey Method I plan on reaching my year-end goal by Brayden’s first birthday next month. This means I have roughly nine pounds to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight with Payton. So doable and honestly it’s so close! Of course, there are additional goals but this last goal is for 2012. 
Back in June my six-week membership with The Dailey Method had expired and I had been yearning to get back into the studio. That was until last week when I began taking classes again and it felt amazing, who would’ve thought that a 45-minute express class would leave me feeling that sore! Over the next month I have been challenged to a 30-day challenge along with three other San Diego based mommy bloggers. Our challenge is to take a minimum of four classes per week – again, doable! It has left me re-energized about my health, my goals and my body. 

If you’re unfamiliar with The Dailey Method it is a one-hour full-body workout that combines ballet barre work, core conditioning, stretching, and orthopedic exercises. The workout effectively strengthens, tones, and lengthens muscles in the entire body while simultaneously increasing one’s mind-body awareness. You leave the studio feeling refreshed, challenged and stronger. It’s amazing how addictive it is even if my legs chatter like crazy and I can’t hold the positions longer than three seconds the results are still amazing and noticeable. The Dailey Method studios can be found all over: California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada and Utah. There are even studios in British Columbia and Paris! To find a location near you visit: thedaileymethod.com

For my 30-day challenge I will be sharing my weekly weigh-in’s once again. This time with…dun, dun, dun…PICTURES! eek! I want to crawl in a hole already but it’s to hold myself accountable. I can find a million things wrong with this week’s picture but be kind lovely readers. I am a mom of two, I’ve got saggy skin (well, saggy everything), I live in my yoga pants, I still look three months preggo and there are days where I don’t do my hair. I’ve got goals and a deadline fast approaching. Come along with me on my final month of my weight loss journey.  

current weight: 146  |   goal: 137 

Disclaimer: I received a one-month membership with childcare for review purposes. Regardless, I only recommend products/services that I would use and believe my readers would enjoy.