I hope that everyone had a very food and family-filled Thanksgiving. Ours technically isn't over yet, since we still have two days to go with the Schneider side of the family, but my side had such a wonderful day yesterday. Before I share my favorites from yesterday, I wanted to share what I'm thankful for this year.

2015 was the year my baby girl was born. I am so grateful for my happy, healthy, spunky, little Elena this year. I am thankful that she doesn't hold back and jumps right into the action. I am thankful that she lets me put hats and bows in her hair, and I am thankful that she is smiling 95% of the time.

I am thankful for the big brother Ty is to her. I remember feeling so guilty about have another child and him not being the only one anymore, but he has embraced being a loving, big brother. I am thankful that I get to watch him greet her every morning "Good morning, sweetheart" and kiss her after prayers every night.

I am thankful for my supportive husband. This is a man that truly puts the needs of me and the kids before his own. This is a man that works overtime to provide for us. This is a man that is completely hands-on with our kids and our household. He is the one that makes my dreams come true everyday and I am immensely grateful that God gave him to me.

I am thankful for my sweet buddy boy. My pup has been with my the longest out of the Schneider bunch and he has seen it all. Through all his health issues he is still happy and loyal and wanting a kiss. I am thankful for each day I have with him. The house is so full of life because of our Holden.

I am thankful for my friends and family that are so encouraging of me and my dreams. This year, more than ever, with all the aspirations I have, I have seen how I need their encouragement and support, and they have all gone above and beyond to make me feel that I am invincible and can accomplish anything. THANK YOU ALL. You know who you are.

I am extremely thankful for my parents (in-laws included) and grandparents this year. Each year that I get older, I appreciate having them around even more. There is wisdom and experience that they can share with me and my family. I am blessed to still have them all and I try my best to not take that for granted.

With all the crazy things happening around the world, I am thankful that I live in a safe place and a country that I can live free. It's a blessing that I was born here in the USA and that I am able to raise my children in a place that is protected by so many individuals whose bravery exceeds my own.

What a year to be thankful!

On to Thanksgiving festivities...

annual sister pic

all the girlies

Elena with two of her beautiful Ninangs

the guys

me and my sweet girl

 We deep-fried the turkey like we do every year! 20 pounds of delicious, fried YUM!

carving the bird

These are some of the sides before we demolished them.

 

My dad always carves the turkey with a grin from ear to ear. I think it's one of his most favorite jobs. Clark W. Griswold

"this is the best one yet"

so glad these two joined us this year.

the Dudek clan

knee deep in cider sangria

our table is so big, my parents had to rearrange the living room

turkey pickin

i love these two

grateful for these looney tunes

The holidays have officially begun. And I LOVE IT.

Linked up with Andrea, Narci, and Erika today:

Friday Favorites

I cannot believe that this is the last Friday before Thanksgiving 2015! This year has flown by! I remember this time last year I was getting pretty pregnant and prepping to host our first Thanksgiving in our house.

This year, less belly, more babies... I am ready! My mom asked me to make the Bloody Mary's for Thanksgiving Day and I can actually enjoy them this year...yippy!

This Friday is bittersweet as I list my first favorite.

My most favorite location... Holden Beach, NC. This is the house my family has had for almost ten years. Recently, my parents decided that it was best to close the chapter on owning a vacation home and let the next family enjoy it, so they sold it and close at the beginning of December. More about this place later, but some of my most favorite memories are in the house. It dates back to when Justin and I were just dating. Sweet memories.

This is a little known memory made possible by the one and only Justin. 

For my birthday a few years ago we went down to the beach with a few friends to celebrate. Justin had something up his sleeve for my birthday that completely surprised me to the point of  being speechless.  He knew it was a dream of mine (and still is) to take the our family to Disney World.  Disney holds a special place in my heart because I was a cast member when I was in college.  It's truly the most magical place on Earth! 

Well, he wanted to make my dream come true by "bringing Disney to me". He got all three of us (Ty, himself, and me) Aladdin costumes and a "magic" carpet that he has a picnic lunch on.  He dressed himself and Ty up and then showed me my outfit and told me we were going to dress up and have lunch on the beach.  I. WAS. SHOCKED. A little embarrassed (as our friends were there), a little flattered, a little of everything. I convinced him that we would have our picnic lunch on the balcony. Looking back on that day, I have the best memories and always giggle to myself that he came up with this idea.  He keeps me on my toes and does his very best to make all my wishes come true. I love my Aladdin. :)

Crab feasts. My fave. I grew up in Baltimore and have a million memories of my whole family gathering around the newspaper-covered table with a steaming pile of Old Bay-covered blue crabs in the center of the table.  As I got older, add a cold brew to that picture and it's perfection. I am stoked to be going to Maryland this holiday to visit family and am so looking forward to picking crabs with loved ones! My mouth is watering now...

I am in love with this cute outfit that Elena wore to the pumpkin patch this year.  We borrowed the pumpkin tunic from our friends and I paired it with some skinny jeans and these stylish leather boots.  I cannot get enough of babies in boots.  To top it off, I made this (Pinterest-inspired) pumpkin bow with my friend, Lori, Wait until you see the one we made for Thanksgiving...eek!

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.

With the cooler weather here and colder weather just around the corner, I am so excited about this FAVORITE of mine. My BFF got this matching Daddy-son beard set for Justin and Ty on Ty's first Christmas.  Not only is it the cutest thing EVER, it keeps his face super warm. I am looking forward to seeing one of Elena's buddies wear it this year! 

This was such a fun Friday Favorites for me! Only 6 days til Thanksgiving! I hope you got your turkeys!

I'm also linking up here:

easy thanksgiving sides

Every year everyone in my family pitches in with sides for Thanksgiving.  There are so many yummy recipes out there, but I am on a constant mission to keep the holidays stress-free and easy, especially since becoming a mother.  The more time I can spend with family, the better! These are some simple Thanksgiving sides for you to try this year!

Corn Casserole by Two Sisters Crafting

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese by ratherbeswimmin'

Sweet Potato Souffle by Lauren Allen @ My Recipe Magic

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts and Bacon by Older Mommy Still Yummy

Crockpot Garlic Mashed Potatoes by Lovely Little Kitchen

Strawberry Cream Cheese Wraps by Buns in my Oven

Check out my Thanksgiving Pinterest board for these and other Thanksgiving ideas!

One of my most favorite Thanksgiving hacks (that my family has been doing for years) is deep frying the turkey.  Not only does it make the most juicy, flavorful bird, it also frees up the oven for warming up the other dishes! Not to mention, it takes a fraction of the time to cook! If you've never tried this before it's a MUST!

surviving the cold months as a SAHM

I am going on my second winter as a stay-at-home mom.  Hind sight is 20-20 and I have seen that light! I know the mistakes I made last year and I am on a mission to make less this year. Let's be real...parenting is an arena where mistakes are a must, so to have a goal of "less mistakes than last time" is realistic.

Last winter, granted I was pregnant, was challenging for me on days where is was just me and my little buddy.  He was almost one year old and into everything. He ran me ragged and we would go stir crazy being stuck inside due to weather.  This year he is TWO and full of energy.  He's a big brother, always busy, very curious, my number one helper, and just like his dad, wants something to always be happening.  At this point Elena is just pleased as a peach to be watching Ty's every move.  As long as I keep Ty happy, I keep Elena happy.

Perhaps I wanted to scratch my educator itch when Back to School rolled around. Perhaps I wanted to prepare for the long cold days indoors. Perhaps I wanted to limit TV time, but keep my sanity in tact.  Whatever the reason, I decided to create a toddler curriculum.  I wanted to do some thematic units to peak his interest in different topics. And so my week-by-week seasonal themes were born...

**See my Pinterest boards for inspiration for activities for each week's themes!

Linsley's Pinterest

Boards:

little minds: fall activities

little minds: winter activities

I hope your little ones enjoy these weeks as much as Ty has so far! His favorites have been the Firefighter Week, making the pumpkin-cano, collecting leaves outside, and sorting apples by color.  He loves going to the library to get books and loves when its time to sit on my "yap" and read together.  The best part about these themed weeks is the flexibility and the repetitive vocabulary.  I would say Ty is master on the subjects we've done so far! If you'd like to see the specific activities we are doing each week from my pinboards, comment below and I would be glad to share!

Happy day-before-Friday! :)

my top 6 favorite slow cooker meals

The girls on my culdesac joke that I am the crock pot queen and it might be true.  I use my crock pot at least twice a week and am always scouring Pinterest for new recipes.  These are six that I always come back to because they are so darn good and I love a quick and EASY meal!

Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal 

The day we arrived home from the hospital after having Elena, my sister had this warm, hearty breakfast for us in the crock pot. Not only are steel cut oats a power food for nursing mothers, but it was such a filling treat after the marathon of having a baby and settling back at home.  I like to make a big pot of this regularly and eat it through out the week! The yummiest parts are the toppings you can add to it-- golden raisins, almonds, chocolate chips... whatever tickles your fancy!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings: 

This crock pot meal screams comfort food and is something my whole family loves.  Ty, who can be picky loves this one and, of course, gobbles up the dumplings!  The leftovers make a great lunch the next day too! 

Mexican Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas

Whenever I get a good deal on pork at the grocery store I stock up and use at least some of it to make these carnitas.  I love carnitas in a corn tortilla with red onions and squeeze of lime on top.  This recipe is also weight watchers friendly and it has the perfect blend of spices.

Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl

Sometimes I like to change up 'Taco Tuesdays' (or Taco Mondays, Sundays, Wednesdays...) with this burrito bowl recipe.  The rice makes this nice and filling and the aroma that fills the house at this cooks throughout the day is mouthwatering! Yum!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

This is another yummy chicken filling for a sweet Hawaiian roll and a side salad!  Sometimes I make enough to freeze some and have again the following week or as a pizza topping for our Friday night pizza!

Crock Pot Chicken Caesar Wraps

On days where I can't seem to get enough done around the house, this is the perfect QUICK meal.  Justin loves chicken Caesar wraps and the slow cooker makes the chicken so tender.  We just put them in a tortilla and call it a day!

What are some of your favorite slow cooker recipes? Please share them with me in the comments so I can try them!

AHA! moment: pumpkin puree

If you are anything like me, when you look at a pumpkin, you see all the many things you can carve in it.  Honestly, until having babies, I never went to the pumpkin patch to buy a pumpkin to cook with.  The plan was always to take a million cute pictures with it, carve it into something creative, MAYBE roast the seeds, and let it sit on my front steps with my mums and festive wreath as decor for the season until it eventually rotted and I had Justin toss it in the dump. I cannot believe looking back that I wasted such a yummy, versatile squash!
This year, I have Elena who is in the baby food stage and loves almost anything pureed.  If I would have realized earlier how easy it was to make pumpkin puree (which isn't just for babies!) I would have started a LOT sooner! The price of canned pumpkin puree is crazy and one pumpkin makes so much!
Here's how I cooked mine:

1. Wash the squash!
2. Cut it in half from top to bottom.

3.  Scoop out the guts.

4. Rub the inside with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt.

5. Place face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. Cover with foil and roast at 400*F until fork- tender (about 40 minutes).

7. Once cool, scoop out the 'meat' and puree on high until smooth. (I used my Ninja!)

Not only did Elena love this, but Ty did too.  I didn't even add anything to it.  You could also use it as you would the canned puree in savory sauces and soups or sweet desserts.  And it freezes beautifully! Oh, the possibilities...

Pumpkin isn't just for carving in our house any more!