Our Favorite Personalized Big Brother Book

Welcoming Cecilia into the family has gone exceptionally well. Cue the eye rolls, now. But, seriously it has been a joy with very little growing pains. Sure, she is a bit fussier than Lucas was at her age and yes, as always, nursing took a few weeks to get the hang of. But, Lucas has been a champ through the process and he is such a good big brother. I think some of the reason that it is going well, is because he was so prepared for this huge event. 

While searching for big brother gifts, I came across the personalized books made by MarbleSpark. Lucas is currently learning how to write his name and he is obsessed with finding "L" all over and loves when he sees his name on paperwork and letters. So, naturally,  I had a feeling that he would love reading a book starring himself. MarbleSpark had just launched a Superhero book, Every Superhero Needs a Sidekick, and I knew it was PERFECT for Lucas. 

Personalization is super simple and quick, just a few minutes really. And the best part? You can customize the character to look like your little one. After you personalize, you can see how the book will look through  preview feature. When it arrived at the post office, Lucas could not have been more excited to open his package. He couldn't believe it actually said his name. And, yes, he did notice that the Lucas in the book looked eerily similar to himself. Since he has received it we have read it no less than 100 times and every time he has a HUGE smile on his face.

MarbleSpark is currently running a giveaway to celebrate the launch of Every Superhero Needs a Sidekick, so make sure to enter for your chance to win here (giveaway has ended).. While you are there make sure to visit their blog to read about the inspiration for this wonderful book. 

I am also super excited to offer my readers 15% of ALL books on MarbleSpark. Personalize your very own book and use code Q5SUK2DP at checkout (offer good until 2/10/2017). They even have a cute Christmas book that you can personalize. We are currently waiting on Cecilia's book to arrive, God Whispered Your Name. 

MarbleSpark is a wonderful little company that not only makes great books, but also has superb customer service. This book will be with us for years to come and it will always help us to remember this special time. Thank you, MarbleSpark! 

Happy Reading, 

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are completely my own. 

#freezerlovefriday, it's pumpkin season!

It has been so much fun highlighting some fun and easy breakfast recipes for #freezerlovefriday. But, when I started this series, I KNEW that I was going to do my pumpkin muffin recipe. Those who know me well, expected this blog to be completely about cooking with pumpkin. I LOVE pumpkin season. 

Ya'll, I make these throughout the entire season of Fall and freeze loads to eat throughout the year. For some reason I don't cook with pumpkin, except for Fall and early winter, but I find it completely normal to eat pumpkin recipes all year. 

I am on a coconut oil kick, right now. Even though I recently read this article which kind of nips the "healthier" rumor in the butt. I have found the goodies made with coconut oil are much fluffier and richer, opposed to butter. Feel free to use the coconut oil or use butter, whichever you prefer. 

The BEST Pumpkin Muffin 

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all purpose whole wheat flour

1 cup sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs

1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree

½ cup coconut oil (straight substitution if using butter)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Directions:

Preheat oven 375°

Prepare muffin pan with muffin cups or flour based non stick spray.

Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice) set aside.

In large bowl mix together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Mix until completely incorporated. Slowly add in the dry ingredients, do not over mix, mix until just incorporated.

I like to use an ice cream scoop to pour batter into the muffin liners. These will not raise too much, so I would fill all the way to the top.

Bake your muffins 22-24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove and let cool on a wire rack. 

Freezing Instructions:

Let the muffins cool completely. You will want to pre-freeze these, put them on a cookie sheet and cover with foil. Keep them in the freezer for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Once completely frozen, place 3-4 in ziplock baggies and keep in freezer. 

Reheating:

You can microwave them for 2-3 minutes, or until completely unthawed. 

Or you can pop them in a convection oven for 10-12 minutes at 275°

These two gobbled up a BUNCH of these muffins!

sister visit recap

As most of you know by now, I grew up in Ohio and now live in the great southwest. Our immediate family is all over the US, and it makes seeing them very difficult. I am a HUGE promoter of moving away from the "norm" for a few years. It does amazing things for you, your relationships and your well being. What's life if you don't experience different cultures, new ideas and new people? Its invigorating!

That being said, we miss family, a lot!  Both Ryan and I's families were so close growing up, it is important to me that Luke has that same connection. So, trips that we make to visit family are extra special. We don't get to go over to my sister's for Sunday dinner, if I need a last minute babysitter, I can't call my mom, it is different but it makes the time we spend together so important. 

Recently, Luke and I made a 12 hour trek across a few states (make sure to check out my road trip post), so we could spend some quality time with my older sister and her family. It was two weeks of fun! 

We had such a wonderful visit, filled with so much love, laughs, and a few scary moments.  

The area that my sister lives has such great parks. Every city and every neighborhood has an amazing space, most with shade and some even have a splash pad! You really get the sense that it is family friendly and they want to put money into teaching their kids to play and enjoy being outdoors. I love that! We frequent parks a lot, they are free and fill the mornings with fun. 

Not only did we enjoy the local parks. But we also took advantage of Sea World's, Waves of Honor, promotion. Sea World San Antonio offers active duty, and family, one free admission a year. It is an amazing promotion and we were so lucky to have been able to use it. Make sure to look into the discount, if you are around a Sea World or a Busch Gardens! We love military discounts! 

Luke loved this place! He has never really been to an amusement park, so I wasn't sure what to expect but he really enjoyed all the activities. 

My sister loves cooking with her kids as much as I love cooking with Luke, so one night we suited the kids up with aprons and put them to work. We had so much fun making chocolate chip cookies (make sure to check the bottom of this post for my secret ingredient) and assembling a pizza. It was a fun way to pass the time and the kids did so well! 

 

I love, love, love running in their town. It is full of hills, which is not something I am used to, and the scenery is magical and much different than the desert. It is amazing! This time I explored some of their local trails and was very impressed. Trail running is so different depending on the terrain you are in, this one was challenging but exactly what I needed. My sister and I also got in a few workouts together, which is so much fun. If I was brave I would post the video of her and I doing Shaun T's new program, CIZE,  so you will have to take our word that it is AMAZING! 

My sister and I were lucky to be able to have a few sister dates, THANK YOU to her husband for holding down the fort and treating us to an amazing dinner out! We even got to visit a trendy bar, which is not something we SAHM's get to do very often. We have been close for many years and have gone through a lot together, she has acted as my voice of reason on many occasions and it is always nice to be reminded of how deep our friendship is. 

Thanks for the reinforcements, the laughs and the words of encouragements those two weeks! We love you all!! 

Below is my favorite cookie recipe. 
Yes, it is very similar to the nestle toll house recipe, which is where my inspiration came from, but I always add my secret ingredient, cinnamon. Trust me, you will never go back to the original!! 

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 ¼ cup butter

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 ½ cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350°

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. 

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips and hand stir until well mixed. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheets, lined with parchment paper. 

Bake for 9-11 minutes, let cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes and remove to wire rack to continue cooling! 

I often like to enjoy my cookies with a glass (or a bottle) of chardonnay! 
Hope you enjoy! 

Happy travels, 

Meredith