Fluff

That is what my blog is made of I'm afraid. Someday I hope to change that into something more meaningful than what I want my bathroom to look like (see my last blog lol). I read so many blogs and am inspired by beautiful people writing the simplest of things in such extraordinary ways and it blows. my. mind.
Why can't I be that stinkin creative and intuitive? Not fair.
I have been thinking about so many things lately and I think this will be my semi-private therapy sesh with myself. Here we go.
I am currently going to school at University of Phoenix. (totally expensive but also very convenient)
My major is Elementary Education. My entire life I have pretended to be a teacher in front of a classroom full of kids that looked up to me. I moved all of my furniture in my room to match my favorite teacher's classroom in 4th grade. Her name was Mrs. Hauser and she drank diet coke and was gorgeous.
So I wore pencil skirts and fake glasses and drank diet coke to perhaps steal her coolness factor.
The only problem is I don't know if I am that passionate about teaching anymore. I loved it when I was a kid and I loved teaching dance in high school, but my heart is elsewhere now.
All I can think about lately is photography, graphic design, weddings, and interior design. For a number of reasons:
1. I want to take amazing pictures of milo as he grows up.
2. Making cute wedding invites with graphic design sounds like a hobby, not a job.
3. Who doesn't love the magic of weddings? Planning my own was a fantasy.
4. I'm obsessed with the DIY network. Bathtastic is my favorite show. I love visualizing houses for what they can be.
5. All of these jobs could potentially make a LOT more than an elementary school teacher.
6. I love beautiful, creative things. I want to surround myself with inspiring things that trigger me to be a better version of myself.
Sooo I'm gonna change my major.
To what, I have no idea yet.
I'll get back to you.
:]

Someday...

I will make these for Milo..

And these for his cute legs..

My bedroom wall will look like this.

My bathroom will look like this.

 

I will take pictures like these..

with this camera :]

XOXO, Alecia

3/29/2011

That is when my milk expires.

That is also when Tangled comes out on Blu-Ray!!!

So if I drink my milk super fast, the 29th will come faster :]

That's my theory anyway ;]

Happiness is homemade :]

I am so proud of myself!
I made a really yummy dinner that I didn't steal the recipe from my mom! Woo!
I'm calling them...
Alecia's [AWESOME] Enchiladas <3
I guess I'm not that awesome since I forgot to take pictures! Gah!
Oh well here is the recipe for you cooker mamas out there!
Ingredients:
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cut into chunks
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (to taste)
1 tablespoon butter (you can add more to taste)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Hint: If you want to know how to chop fresh green onions look here. Don't feel silly, I wouldn't put this link on here if I didn't have to google it myself :]
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
(If you don't have garlic or onion powder, garlic or onion salt still works great! That's what I had to do!)
5 (12 inch) flour tortillas (burrito size)
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded and divided in half
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives
Directions:
1. Place the chicken in a large pot and add enough water to cover the chicken. (Hint: this isn't where the 1 cup of water goes.) Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces aren't pink, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. (Hint: The fork trick didn't work too great for me. If you have tongs and a fork, it seems to work better. ALSO, if chicken isn't finely shredded, it still works.) Cover pot with chicken and set aside, off of heat.
3. Combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
4. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. (I like my onions really soft so I leave it for an extra minute or two.)
5. Strain the water from the chicken. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half the bunch of green onion, and 1 cup of water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
7. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas.
(Hint: I used way more then the suggested cheese and it was divine.)
Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
8. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the remaining chopped green onions (optional: I didn't), and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.


So I know that wasn't really that simple but it is sooooo worth it. This is Mike's new favorite  meal I've ever made for him. Pretty sweet if you ask me. :]
Some side notes on this recipe:
-If you want more spice, you can buy medium or hot taco seasoning instead of mild.
-You can also add more chili powder to crank up the heat. 
-If you don't like green onions, I think it would taste fine without them because of the yellow onions that are already in there. I've never made it without so I don't know for sure, but hey if you don't want green onions, let me know how it goes!
-Instead of dealing with shredding the chicken (the most time-consuming part), you could cube the raw chicken in smaller pieces and just use them as small chunks.
I hope that makes this recipe easier!

Our little man's blessing!

Yesterday was Milo's blessing and it was such a beautiful & perfect day in every way possible!
I got to buy a new dress, which I actually felt cute in (not common in new moms as many of you know!). I bought it from mikarose, which is my new fave place for nice church/temple dresses! Check it out!
Milo's new little tux made him look like a little man instead of a baby. He captured everyone's heart in that little get-up! :]

Mike was so nervous to get up in front of everyone and still say the right things to Milo, but he did such an amazing job. His words were so personalized and specific to Milo. He told him to choose the right friends because they will help him stay on the straight and narrow. He also told him that he has touched the lives of many with his sweet spirit. He blessed him so he would be able to serve a mission, which was powerful to me. He said a lot of powerful words that definitely sounded like they were coming from Heavenly Father himself. I am so proud of Mike! Not to mention he looked like a total babe ;)
After the blessing (which lasted a total of 2 minutes), Milo had a little blowout in sacrament meeting.. haha AND as if giving Milo his blessing wasn't enough, Mike took him out to change him. You have to understand that first, Milo has the stinkiest poop ever and second, Mike has a weak gag reflex. So he's pretty much a rockstar for volunteering with no ultimatum involved! :)
BUT, Milo didn't make it easy on daddy.. There isn't anywhere to change babies in the men's restrooms (which is lame, because come on moms need a break sometimes!). So Mike took Milo to the car to change him. He couldn't figure out how to take off his tux so he completely slid him out the top. He found out later that there are snaps on the legs just like any baby pjs.. haha Poor Mike! I came out to help and found this in our backseat.. :)

Soooooooo many people showed up! Mike and I have a lot of family in the first place, but the number was huge! I've never felt so blessed and loved and supported so thanks to everyone who came! :)
The weather was beautiful. People were able to go outside on our back patio and hang out while the kids ran around. Totally awesome!
The food was great. The company was even better. And the day was just ultimately perfect for us. :]

XOXO, Alecia

Boys Night Out

Mike's fave band (one of them) and also Mike's current status..
which leaves one bored leesha.
You would think I would have like a thousand things I would want to do but I am in a state of complete boredom right now.
So, I went through my pictures and started with the pictures of Milo in the NICU and progressed through his life as he has gotten bigger and more entertaining. The first picture I have is this one.

Mike's hand really shows how small Milo was when he was born.
Don't even get me going on all of those machines and wires. I get teary-eyed every time I look at this picture or even think about him or any baby being in the NICU.
This was the hardest thing I've ever had to do as a person, but especially as a mother. Looking at this picture brings back all of the feelings I experienced including guilt and anger at myself. I always told myself I could have done something differently that could have prevented him from coming early.
I cried myself to sleep every night.
And any moment a nurse wasn't looking at me.
And every time I had to leave Milo at the hospital, even just to eat something.
I can't help but be overwhelmed when I think of this picture and this time in my life.
But... I am who I am today because of the crucial experiences I had while mothering my "layaway baby."
(I called him that because I felt like he was my Christmas present but I couldn't take him home, so he was my layaway baby.)
Whenever I become overwhelmed with the bittersweet times in the NICU, all I have to do is see him today and how big and beautiful and strong he has become and my sorrows are lifted, my faith is restored, and my hope returned.

How marvelous and mysterious the Lord can be at times.
Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Mosiah 14:4

Happy Love Day!

Valentine's Day was always a bittersweet holiday for me before I met Mike, every year seemed to be disaster-filled no matter my "relationship status." I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day until last year..
It was our first valentine's together. We didn't do anything outrageously fancy or spend tons of money but I fell in love with Valentine's Day after that. We went to see the movie "Valentine's Day" ON V-Day last year which has become our new tradition to watch it on Valentine's every year from now on. Cute :)
This year was particularly sweet for me. I have to give you the backstory for you to understand why this valentine's day was especially sweet.
A month-ish ago, Mike and I got into a ridiculous fight. I know its weird that married people fight. ;) Looking back, its always easier to point out your own mistakes instead of the other person's, obviously. I was having a pre-pms day where everything was an attack at me, sound familiar ladies? haha
I exploded at Mike and cried out "I just want flowers!"
Wow, even typing this makes me sound ridiculous. I should have skipped the backstory.. oops haha
Anyway, I think its safe to say that even though flowers die, the thought of flowers is really sweet and we love to get them!
No matter how I was feeling about flowers, we had our little argument and ruined our night. We came home, and I was feeling really sick. I asked Mike if he could go grab me some medicine at walmart and he came home and surprised me with these...

And a card that said how sorry he was for fighting and that he couldn't wait to spend eternity with me and milo. I felt like such a jerk for making a big deal about it but the second he came in with flowers, I couldn't help but cry! He knew how much it meant to me and he went out of his way to make me feel loved and appreciated.
That brings us to Valentine's Day this year.
The first thing I saw valentine's morning was this text from Mike:
"Happy valentines day baby cakes! I love you to the moon and back! To infinity and beyond! Forever and eternity!" :)
We are so cheesy but I love me some cheese in my life. :)
After Mike got off work, he came home and surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and the sweetest letter ever.ever.ever.

We went to walmart, got lots of junk food, and came home and played scrabble with candlelight. :)
Any moment I get alone with my sweetheart is always a romantic one. :)
A belated valentine's surprise was just a little something like this...

We are engaged to be sealed!! Clever, eh? :)

I was in the bath when Mike texted me to come downstairs. I come around the corner to the living room and Mike immediately fell to one knee and held out a little white box wrapped in a pink ribbon. Since I was in a towel and we were in the living room, it seemed appropriate to move this conversation downstairs where he continued to tell me that he wants to be with me and milo for eternity and asked me to be sealed as a family. :)

For a married woman, I feel like we are engaged and giddy all over again! I'm planning a luncheon for after the sealing and I'm planning to send out cute invites and everything. I am a nerd for planning parties, even if I'm not a huge social bug anymore. I especially love planning weddings, so a sealing is just as awesome to get excited for! :)

I feel so blessed right now. We are being poured on with blessings, it is unreal. 

I'm engaged to my sweetheart all over again! I'm a happy lady! :]

XOXO, Alecia

Milo is 4 months old!

Here is how big he is and how much he's grown!

Newborn:

1 month old:

2 months old:

3 months old:

4 months old:

He is getting so big!

<3

Happy New You!

This new year is especially important to me because I have a clean slate as a mom. 

I can decide what I didn't like about myself as a mom from last year 

(the whole 3 months I was a mom..) and start anew!

I want to change/improve so many things about myself this year 

but here is my number one goal.

"I resolve not to set myself up to fail by setting ridiculous goals that aren't reachable by the average human."

Having said that I have some very realistic goals for myself this year. :)

- I want to be more proactive in Milo's daily life. Meaning: when he is happy laying on the floor, I won't check facebook and BS but get down to his level and help him roll over, grab toys, etc.

- I want to teach Milo about the gospel. I need to be better at showing Milo pictures of things that are important, such as pictures of the temple, of Christ, of the Prophet, of his family members, of Daddy!

- I want to be a more positive person. This goal is very broad so allow me to explain. I get caught up in how tough it is to run on limited sleep, not have hours to myself, or whatever the case may be. I think we all do that because it is human nature. I want to be one of those people that is bursting with positivity that people want to be near me and soak up the sunshine! I know people like that, hence the goal. :]

- I don't want to lose __ pounds or weigh __ much. I want to be healthy. I want to chase Milo around as he learns to crawl and walk and run away from me! I want to play football with him and not drop dead because I'm weak. I want to live a long healthy life so I can watch my grandchildren grow up! 

- I want to be a more loving, understanding, and supportive wife. I want to make our house a refuge for Mike after working so hard for me and Milo. I want to treat him and love him and surprise him every day forever. :)

- I want to expand my knowledge of church history. I have a testimony of the gospel and of my Savior, but I want to learn more about scripture stories and church history. I've always wished I knew more.

- I want to be sealed to my little family for time and all eternity. This is my most important goal of 2011. Thinking about seeing my beautiful son in the arms of my sweet husband makes me tear up.. That day will be the most wonderful day of my existence. My heart yearns for that day.

Happy New You everybody! That's what you have the chance to be, a new you! :)

XOXO,

Alecia

Hello 2011!

Let me just start by saying Happy New Year!!
It has been a crazy holiday season! So much has happened!
For the Christmas season, we took Milo to temple square to see the lights and WOW! He LOVES Christmas lights! We already knew that because of how entranced he was with our Christmas tree but on a temple square scale it was mind blowing for the little guy!
Here's the end result of the night..

He was zonked!

Being a parent makes you see things in new eyes. All of a sudden you're a kid again and Christmas is magical and simple things make you smile. 

Here are some more pictures of Milo this Christmas season!

He smiles at everything now, which is just the greatest thing ever!
He is still pre-laughing, with some moments of real laughing, but not laugh-laughing yet. I can't wait!
He loves everyone and anyone he meets! He is friendly and loving to everyone, which makes me happy.
He gargles :)
He is starting to make "ma" and "da" sounds. Any day now he's gonna bust out a mama! :)
He sleeps ALLLLLLLLLL through the night. We're talking 9 hours MINIMUM! Can you say happy momma?? Oh ya.
We also took awesome family pictures for Christmas and here are my faves!

Tomorrow get ready for a big and exciting thing that is coming to my blog.. :)
Night XOXO,
Alecia