Strawberry Freezer Jam

Last week we visited a u-pick farm just down the street from our house to get some strawberries. I got 4.75 pounds for $7! I love living so close to such fresh produce. After seeing this recipe on Pinterest, I decided to use most of the strawberries to make freezer jam.


After washing, hulling and slicing them, I put them in a 9x13 pan and went to town with my potato masher. It was super tedious and annoying, so I quickly decided to pour every thing into my food processor and pulse away.


Which left me with this yumminess.


I mixed instant pectin and sugar in a separate bowl, then stirred it into the strawberries. I couldn't find the pectin that the recipe called for, but I finally found this at Food Maxx. I followed the instructions on the package for the amount to use.


I poured it into small jars, let it set for 30 minutes, then popped all but one in the freezer.


It has a much fresher/raw taste than cooked jam, but its very yummy... And SO easy to make. We've been slathering it on PBJ's and waffles all week!

29 Weeks!

This week has been a bit more eventful than weeks past. A few days ago I was having a lot of cramping in my lower belly, so I called Labor&Delivery and they told me to go in to get checked. We were there for about 1.5 hours and it was so empty the whole time! I'm used to our previous (military) hospital that delivers 300 babies a month. But here, we were the only ones in triage! It was our first time at the hospital here, so it was nice to see it and learn where things are. It's super nice, and every nurse and doctor we talked to said that they are willing to work with us with however we want our labor and delivery to go. I'm SO thankful for answered prayers!

Anyway, everything looked fine with Lexi. They strapped me to the heartbeat and contractions monitors, so it was nice to just sit and listen to her sweet heart. I did have some minor contractions, but nothing out of the ordinary for being in my third trimester. Everything else checked out normal and we were sent on our way, fears calmed.

I'm so ready for this chick to be here. I know I still have 10ish weeks, but I'm feeling like I did at the end of my pregnancy with Jax. I'm just super anxious and excited and READY!

Here I am this week...

Getting big! 

And here's my boy and his cute belly :)

We're heading to our local farmers' market tomorrow morning. I'm hoping to score some yummy, fresh, local produce. I also have a few recipes that I'll be posting soon. 

Happy weekend!

Backyard fun

The weather here in Northern California has been beautiful these past few days! 

 We've been eating lunch out on our patio,

taking walks to the park,

opening all of our windows, 

and doing lots of playing outside.

  It's been so wonderful. 

Yesterday, I set up a science experiment with Jax.

Baking soda + vinegar with food coloring + dropper = super cool fizzy colors!

I should have recorded him trying to say "chemical reaction"

 It's rather hard for an almost 3-year-old to say ;)

He didn't want to stop until the whole thing was covered  (aka SATURATED) with colors

Such a fun and easy way to learn about colors, color combinations, and science.

I'm so looking forward to more of this gorgeous weather as we settle into spring!

San Francisco!

We decided last minute on Saturday morning to take a day trip to San Francisco. It was beautiful weather and it's only about an hour from our house, so we knew it was a good day to do it. I looked up a few things to do, just so we had a few good ideas, then we hit the road. 

We decided to head to Pier 39 first. We stopped to pick up some Giants hats. Now that we are bay area residents, it's only appropriate!

 Hello, Bay Bridge in the background

There is an aquarium on the pier, so that was our first stop. We knew Jax would love it. He was very excited about "Nemo" being there.

They also had a few of these walk-through tunnels that were pretty cool.

(I had such a hard time getting  decent photo in there)

We took a picture at Hard Rock Cafe to put in Jax's guitar frame in his room.

Then we found the famous sea lions.

Next, Jax and Daddy rode the carousel. 

And we made our way to Bubba Gump's for lunch... where Jax put on a little dance show in Forest's shoes. 

After lunch we wandered around the pier and came across a little hole in the wall that makes these...

Crepes! Nutella Crepes! Yummmmm. 

After our little treat, we headed to find some more chocolate at Ghirardelli Square. I have to say, I was pretty bummed about that place. I have fond memories from when I was younger, but there isn't much to offer these days. Just some random shops and restaurants. But you can definitely find plenty of delicious Ghirardelli chocolate to buy!

We didn't stay long at Ghirardelli Square before we headed to Lombard Street. We waited in traffic to drive down it, and it was a pretty fun experience. Jax thought the "swervy street" was "super cool!". 

We intended to head home after Lombard Street. Then Ryan decided that we should take the long way home so that we could cross the Golden Gate Bridge instead of the Bay Bridge.

It turned out that it was actually faster to do a u-turn at the end of the bridge and just go back the way we came. So we spent about 2 hours winding through the streets of San Francisco and crossing the Bridge, just to turn around and end up back where we started. I've been teasing my dear husband about it ever since ;) 

Overall, it was a great day and we had a ton of fun. I'm glad that we are close enough to be able to drive there for the day. Plus, there's still lots more to see, so I know we'll be doing it again soon!

28 weeks

Not all sources agree on which week is the official start of my third trimester, however all of them agree that by this week, I'm officially in! I can't believe that we have less than 3 months to go. And I know these three months are going to fly by... between my baby shower, some fun family events, and Jax's birthday, we have a lot going on!

This week was awesome because we finally got to see an OB! Our appointment was with the first available person, but we ended up really liking her so we are going to stick with her until the end. I'm super excited because she is completely okay with us attempting a VBAC! We discussed options and back up plans, but as of now we are good to go for a VBAC. Please keep praying that it will happen (and happen quickly/smoothly!). We also got to hear Lexi's sweet heartbeat and get a quick ultrasound at our appointment. It feels so good to be back on a normal pregnancy schedule. I go back to my OB in 4 weeks, then 3, then 2, then each week until she's born.

I almost forgot to take my picture this week (again...), but I remembered this morning, so I waited until Ryan got home from work then had him snap one. My weeks change on Thursdays, but you may have noticed that I usually don't get around to getting a blog post up until Friday. I blame pregnancy brain!

Here's this week's picture...

And here is the comparison with Jax...

It's funny because it looks like Jax is so much higher than Lexi. So much for my theory that girls carry higher!

Even though she is still pretty lazy, I've been able to feel some elbows/knees moving around and poking out. Keep on moving and shaking, little girl!

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

I love to cook and bake. I make dinner from scratch for our family almost every night. I also have a huge sweet tooth, so I am constantly wanting to bake something to satisfy those cravings. I have to *try* to control myself, so I don't gain 23143241 pounds.... which is extra hard during pregnancy!

I've been planning on adding recipes to my blog for awhile now, but I just haven't gotten around to it for a couple of reasons. One, I don't have the best lighting in my kitchen. Two, I'm not much of a food photographer. And three, most of the time I just plain forget to even try to take pictures. BUT, I remembered a few nights ago when I was indulging my sweet tooth by making this recipe I found on Pinterest. I halved the recipe to make an 8x8 pan instead of a 9x13 pan. Here is what I did...

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

For the crust:

2 sticks salted butter (room temperature)

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 C flour

For the filling:

1/2 of a bag of caramel bits or individually wrapped caramels

1/4 C milk or cream

1/2 Tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp (or more) course salt (I used kosher)

Preheat oven to 325* and spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.

To make the crust:

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour and beat on low until it forms a dough (this may take a few minutes). Press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Put the other half in the fridge to cool. Bake the crust for 20 minutes or until the edges are pale golden.

While the crust is baking, make the caramel filling. Place the caramels, cream and vanilla in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well after each one, until caramel is smooth and melted. 

Pour the caramel over the crust. Sprinkle with salt.

Remove the remaining dough from the fridge, break it apart and sprinkle over the top of the caramel, completely covering it. (I forgot to take a picture of this part. Oops.)

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the caramel is bubbly and the edges are golden. Let it cool for 15 minutes (or more if you don't want to burn your tongue on hot caramel ;) ) then cut it into 12 squares. Try not to eat 5 at once.

YUMMMM!

Easter!

We had an absolutely wonderful Easter this year! It was the first year in about 5 years that we've been with family and we all had a great time. We did dinner and an egg hunt with Ryan's family on Saturday. Jax and his cousin, Elijah, had so much fun hunting for eggs. And next year, there will be two more babies in the mix!

Jax learned how to hunt eggs last year, so by this year he was a total pro. 

He took his job very seriously

Elijah was less interested in collecting eggs and more interested in throwing them and just running around

Jax helped show him what to do

He was very proud of his egg collecting skills

Auntie Jenny sat with baby Samuel while he slept the day away, but I'm sure that next year he will be toddling around too!

After we got home from Ryan's parent's house, we introduced Jax to some "magic" jelly beans. We had him put them on the ground, then told him that the Easter Bunny is the only one who can make them grow, and that he would have to check back in the morning to see if the Easter Bunny had stopped by. 

Ryan snuck out on Easter morning and replaced the jelly beans for dum-dums. Jax was THRILLED that the Easter Bunny had come by and that the beans had grown into lollipops!

Of course Jax also got an Easter basket full of goodies this year. I went to the Dollar Store and got some gardening tools, a Mickey Mouse paint set, a Noah's Ark puzzle, colored pencils, a chocolate bunny, some peeps and a Reece's pieces "carrot". 

He was pretty excited about his stuff... and of course had to line it all up. He's just a tad OCD :)

And what's Easter without a family picture?! 

I forgot to take a pregnancy picture this week, but as you can see, I've entered my third trimester with a bang. My belly is large and in charge. Less than three months to go!

I can't believe that next Easter we will have two sweet kiddos in the family picture!

Some "Pinteresting" Ideas and some painting

I heart Pinterest.

I wish it had been around when I was decorating our house in North Carolina. And I really wish it had been around when I was doing Jax's nursery. He ended up with a boy-themed bedding, mobile, laundry basket, and diaper holder set from Babies R Us. Boring. 

Lexi's is going to be much cuter! Check out this sneak peek...

I'm not super crafty and I'm definitely not creative, but I am a great copier. Which is why Pinterest comes in so handy. Here are a few things we have done in our new (rental) house. 

All the pins and sources can be found on my Home Decor board.

Jax's playroom wall... more art to come soon

A table near our entry way. I got the printable from Pinterest and I love that I can change it out for each season/holiday. 

I copied this picture wall from Pinterest as well. The frame on the left is just waiting for pictures of Jax and Lexi :)

We've also been working on Jax's guitar bedroom. We found a cute guitar frame at Michael's a few days ago and decided to buy it and let him paint it with colors that match his room.

 He did a great job!

I finally have a prenatal appointment tomorrow! After 10 long weeks without seeing a doctor. It's only to do all the initial paperwork and such, then I'll schedule an appointment with an OB once that's done. But I'm going to beg them to listen to her heartbeat tomorrow as well, I'm dying to hear it. Pray they agree!

PS- I just realized that the countdown is under 100 days until Lexi gets here! 

YAY double digits!