Running to the Kitchen

Check out my guest post on Running to the Kitchen today and learn how I try to fit in 5 minute work outs in my days.

My 7 Links

Peanut didn’t want to cooperate for the 6 month pictures this morning,

 

 

So we decided to re-take them tomorrow morning.

 

Instead, I’ll entertain ya.

 

Gina at Running to the Kitchen tagged me in the 7 Links.  So here goes,

 

1. My Most Beautiful Post: Our love story: the first kiss.  I loved writing our story down (and really do need to finish it).  But this post is definitely my favorite.  I don’t know if you know this about me, but I love writing (and talking…duh).  But I don’t always end up writing a lot in my posts.  This one was all about the writing.

 

2. My Most Popular Post: The Hearty Chicken Enchiladas in a slow cooker.  This recipe is amazing and apparently ya’ll think so too (I have no idea where the southern accent came from).

 

3. My Most Controversial Post: I don’t really have a very “controversial” post per se, but I did write about a controversial topic: breastfeeding.

 

4. My Most Helpful Post: This one is only helpful to those of you who are dealing with some baby sleep issues - the Ferber sleep training.  It changed our lives - for the better.  We’ve had very little sleep issues with P since we decided to go through with the sleep training.  I’d recommend it to just about everyone.

 

5. A Post Whose Success Surprised Me: Belly update - 40 weeks.  If you search “40 week belly update” on Google, it actually comes up as the 4th result.  Crazy.  PS- I was huge.  And now I miss my belly.

 

6. A Post I Didn’t Think Got the Attention it Deserved: Pelmeni, a family affair.  In it, I make fun of my dad.  Love you, daddy-o.

 

7. The Post I am Most Proud of: The Jasmine post.  This was one of the hardest things to write about, but it was something I needed to do to process it all in my head and let it go.  I can’t really tell ya honestly that I’ve really let it go, but I can tell you that I cried for 5 days straight while writing all the Jasmine posts and then I felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

 

Here are the other 4 Blogs that were tagged on Gina’s 7 Links:

• Anne at Fannetastic Food
• Cait at Beyond Bananas
• Katie at Sweet Tater Blog
• Erin at The Healthy Apron

 

And now it is time to start tagging.  Hope you participate!

• Jenn @ Growing with the Greens
• Doctor’s wife @ Life of a Doctor’s Wife
• Katy @ Monster Proof
• Lori @ I Can Grow People
• Emily @ The Culinary Couple

FF: I heart new blogs

Don’t you love a great link up? I do. Especially when it leads me to new blogs that I instantly fall in love with.

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So for today’s Friday Five, I’m going to share with you new blogs that I love.

1.  A pair of Kings



It’s all about your name and your awesomeness.  This pair has both.

2.  Jodi’s Bean Blog



I actually didn’t catch this one in the link up but I did because Jodi commented on my blog!  She was also at the Cape this weekend.  Obviously, that caught my interest.  And her posts kept it!

3.  You and Me plus Hudson makes three



Babies. Dogs. Photography. Honesty.  Need I say more?

4.  A Dollop of my Life

Okay…how cute are these guys?  Come on!  You know you can’t say “no” to this kind of cuteness.

5.  A southern girl

I’m a sucker for Southern moms.  Something about their easy-going, polite good nature that just draws me in.  Plus that little chunk-monster of a baby.  I’m a sucker for the babies.

Did you find new friends in the link up?

Did you find me?  Leave me a comment so I can check you out!

Do you always check out the bloggers that comment on your blog?  I do!

Got a Friday Five?  Link up!

6 ladies with something in common

These six beautiful ladies met this weekend:

Molly, Emily, Kim, Kari, Katie and me

because of this:


I should be honest with you…4 of us are kind of cheaters.

Kari, Emily, Molly, Katie and Kim

We knew each other.  In fact, we work together.  And therefore see one another every single day.  But we did get to meet 2 more beautiful bloggers to add to our little growing network.

Emily and Kari (two of the ladies I work with)

The dinner was delicious, the conversations were amazing.
To be even more honest…the wine helped.

I’m not going to lie to you, this was one of the most wonderful nights.  The ladies that joined us for dinner were incredible – and every bit what I imagined just from following along with their blogs.

Let me introduce you:
(from left front and going around the table…)
Kim from Book Worm Runs
Emily from Life on Food
Kari from Running Ricig
Lil’ ol’ me from….welll…here
Molly form MK & an MBA
Katie from Love is Everywhere

Molly and Katie

We talked about our blogs, how we got started, what keeps us going, and our inspirations and aspirations.
Oh and we ate.

Kari and soup

and we took lots of pictures.

Kim, Emily and Kari

Because that’s what we do best.

me, Molly, and Katie

Well, that and write. And for some of us, run.  And others, learn.  And yet others, love.  Okay, so taking pictures is just a small part of what we do best, but you get the drift.  We took a lot of them.
And then this beautiful lady whipped out the presents.

It’s just her nature.

Kim and Emily

Like it’s my nature to enjoy presents.

And then we schemed about the next Meet up.  If you’re interested in being kept in on the details, leave a comment or shoot one of us an e-mail.  We’d love to expand our awesome network.

Q & A–the A

I think Q&A is becoming one of my fav recurring posts.  I love your questions! 

 

 

Here are some answers:

 

Emily @ The Culinary Couple asked me what we use for a stroller.  Well, Em, we use the Bob Revolution.  And we are obsessed!

 

 

It is possibly the coolest stroller ever (ps- this is the new model they just released while ours is last year’s model).  It is a jogging stroller, which is awesome for us when I start running again (I have to wait until Peanut is 8 months).  But it’s actually an amazing all-around stroller with a pivoting front wheel, sick suspension, and impressive turning radius.  It’s lightweight (which is awesome since I have to load and unload it by myself); it folds up in half to go in your trunk (“like a gloooooove”); it can go anywhere (it even navigates through the sand without ruining the wheels).  So yeah.  I’d recommend it.

 

 

Carrie @ Life in the Slow Lane wanted to know if I knew English before I moved to the US and what baby item I can’t live without.

 

My sister and I were actually signed up for some English classes a couple of months before we decided to move to the US.  We learned to say, “Hello”, “My name is (insert name)” and “I don’t speak English.”  I think that about sums it up.  When we moved to the US, our parents put us straight in to school and then summer camp for the summer to immerge us into the English-speaking culture.

 

As for the baby item.  Ahh! I’m stumped.  I feel like it’s something new every day!  Peanut goes through things and grows things out left and right.  I think right now I couldn’t live without this bouncy seat.

 

 

(I can’t find our exact one but this is almost the same thing).

 

We literally don’t leave the house without it.  It calms Peanut down in seconds when she’s grumpy, she is able to take naps in it when we’re at someone’s house, and it almost always gets a little giggle out.  We actually hang other toys from it for her to play with.

 

 

Robin @ FindGoodInEveryDay asked if we live by the beach – we do!  We’re about 2 or 3 miles from Hammonasset Beach State Park (where we went for a walk on Mother’s Day) and a couple of miles from the Madison private beaches. 

 

 

Personally, I wouldn’t actually go in the water there (yucky sound) but we love taking advantage of the sandy beach, nice walks, and gorgeous views.

New look

What do ya think? Love it? Like it a lot? Love it a lot?

Here's the story.

My last design I did by myself.  It took days.  And it was challenging.  But it was fun.  But it took days.

Days I just didn't have this time around.

Then I found Jenn.  (cue angels singing).  That's right.  She made this.

Want one of your own?  Check out Jenn's site:

Ladies lunch out

Apparently I'm rather spoiled these days.

Not only did I get to go out with my besties in Boston, but this past weekend Jon stayed home with our precious little Peanut while I got to hang out with these ladies.

From left to right, that's Emily (she has a food blog - check it out), Janice (she just moved back from Portland, OR), Laura (she's getting married next year! Ooo and guess who's a bridesmaid! Me!), moi (I'm cool...that's right), and Kari (she has a running blog - you'd love it).

And oddly enough every one of us works together.

We all had a lot to catch up on, seeing as how one of us just had a baby (me!), one of us just got married (Emily), one of us is about to buy a house (Janice), one of us is about to run a half-marathon (Kari), and one of us just got engaged (Laura).  So yeah.  We had a lot to chat about.  And a lot of delicious crepes to gobbled up.

Thanks for an awesome day out, ladies.

Bloggy Bake Sale is tomorrow

I'm knee deep in baby poop and spit up here.  But you don't want to hear that.  Instead here's an update on the Bake Sale tomorrow from Kari's Blog.


As many of you may know, tomorrow is the day of my blog bake sale to raise money for Kisses from Katie. If it's your first time here, please visit my Running for Katie page to read more about my goals for the year.

So far Kristen and I have raised over $500 with the help of generous family, friends, and readers. We're excited and encouraged by the outpouring of support from everyone. Our goal is to raise $5000 to help support our friends Vickie and Alan as they work to support children and families in the pediatric ICU.

The bake sale tomorrow includes over 30 tasty offerings from friends, family, and even quite a few awesometacular bloggers.

In case you needed some enticement to come back tomorrow. You can buy the perfect gift for Valentine's Day, a care package for someone far from home, a delicious treat for yourself, OR a birthday gift for me! You can even use whatever you win as  motivation for your next workout. Like, I better get on the treadmill today, because 2 doz. cookies are on their way to my belly! Or, you know, something not weird at all. 

The sale will be live from 8 am to 8pm, so stop by and do some bidding!!

Four things

Do you ever read someone's blog and think that you're friends?  Especially if they reply to your comments?  It must be a true friendship.  Anyways, Jessica over at How Sweet It Is posted this.  Challenge accepted! (Yes, I know it wasn't a challenge.  Can't you just play along this once?)

1. Four TV shows that I watch:

• 16 and Pregnant
• Teen Mom/Teen Mom 2
• Grey's Anatomy
• 30 Rock

2. Four things that I’m passionate about:

• Cleaning
• Food 
• Family
• Friends

3. Four words/phrases I use a lot:

• "Man it out" (There's a story behind this. It's not long nor funny)
• "Nobooooooody loooooves me" (you have to sing it and pout at the same time...it's not easy but I'm really good at it)
• "Wicked"
• "Thingy" (this could be a remote, a spatula, some sort of a tool, a computer part...the list goes on; however, you are expected to know exactly what I am referring to)

4. Four things I’ve learned from the past:

• Travis farts.  A lot.  I didn't know dogs could be that gross.
• Dirty dishes don't clean themselves.  But husbands do.  (An important note here is that you first have to cook an intricate meal first).
• Marriage isn't easy.  It's not hard either.  But it's not easy.  I'm just sayin'.
• I get really really irritated when I'm hungry.  If I'm snappy, I'd suggest feeding me.

5. Four places I would like to go:

• Paris
• Venice
• Moscow (again and again)
• California

6. Four things I did yesterday:

• Went to BJ's, Home Depot, TJ Maxxx
• Went to my dr's appointment and heard Peanut's heartbeat
• Had a prenatal massage (thanks to my thoughtful husband)
• Walked on the treadmill

7. Four things I am looking forward to:

• Becoming a mommy
• Meeting Peanut
• Having my body back
• Drinking champagne

8. Four things I love about winter:

• The holidays
• Snow
• Cozy nights by the fire
• Being cold

Your turn!  
PS- If you accept this challenge, post a link in the comments so I could check it out!

Holiday Party time!

I love traditions.

One of the most awesome things about growing up (that's what we're doing here...I know it's hard to tell) is starting new traditions. Many of our friends are newlyweds, getting married, settling down together, and having families which means that they're starting their own traditions. It's all very grown up and exciting.

Anyways, this year is the first year that our friends Kari and Mike from Jogging with Fiction hosted a Holiday Yankee Swam party. And let me tell you, it was a BLAST!

The hosts

There was delicious food

Appetizers

No worries, I'll post the recipes for these guys later.  Do you love my 2-tier tray?  It's from Crate & Barrel.

Amazing Cupcakes

A professional made these.  Sorry, no recipe for this one.

There were also amazing lasagnas (meat and meatless!), mini pizzas, cookies, and delicious drinks.  I didn't get any photos.

Jon lovin' on Bungee

I was in the kitchen when I heard Jon's cooing voice say, "Hello sweetheart.  How are you?"  Then I realized that he was talking to Kari's dog.

Can you tell we're both bloggers?

Kari and I tried to take lots of pics, but were yelled at for excessive flash.  All the more reason that I need a new flash for Christmas. 

Pregnant ladies

And, as I mentioned, many of us are taking the next steps in our lives...aka here is the corner for the preggers.  If you can't tell, I'm ready to pop.  Our friend Shannon is due in the Spring.

The Yankee Swap turned rather rowdy with stolen gifts and peer pressure, but in the end my husband got 2 Nerf guns (thanks a LOT, Mike) and proceeded to shoot everything in sight from the Christmas tree ornaments to their wedding photos to other people's butts.  Then all the other boys joined in on the fun.  We're a really mature bunch.  Did I mention we were growing up?

Do you want to be the next featured blog?

Each month I will pick a blogger to do a guest post about a topic of their choice. In addition to the feature post, I will include your button on my blog for a month (I can do a picture of your choice if you don't have a button) with a link to your blog and the feature post.

Right now I'm looking for a December guest blogger!


To enter you have to be a loyal follower and let me know that you're interested (contact info here or simply leave a comment.
 

Blog Hop Monday

Welcome to Mailbox Monday!!  A blog hop to
boost your subscriber count!

Hosted by This Mama Loves Her Bargains, A little of this A
little of that… and Simply Stacie

Here’s how to join in the fun:

• Add your blog link to the linky
• Subscribe by email to the three hostesses. They will return the favor.
• Visit the other blogs on the list and subscribe by email to the ones that
  interest you. Leave them a comment with your blog link so they know you are
  subscribing from Mailbox Monday. Don’t forget to confirm your subscription!

Everyone is welcome to participate.  Each week a newlinky will be generated so make sure you stop by on Monday’s to add your blog.

Your blog *must* have a place for people to e-mail subscribe.We will be subscribing to everyone’s blog who participates.  If there isn’t an e-mail subscribe option, your link will be removed from the
linky.

The Mailbox Monday Blog of the Week is Shopper
Gal which takes the #4 spot on the linky. Next week, we will choose
from this week’s participants for the Blog of the Week.

Help us spread the word about Mailbox Monday! Write a
post for your blog and add the blog hop code.

Let’s have fun and meet (and read via email) some new
blogs!

Subscribe to Living like the Kings by Email

Daycare Registry

Are you an expectant mother?

Check this out!

http://www.mydaycareregistry.com/

It's a registry to register for DayCare donations rather than gifts.  What an awesome idea!

Go Jane! I love it!

Top 5 Blog I'm into right now

I haven't done these in a little while, so I thought I'd get back on track and with a very special gift for you.  My top 5 blogs to follow.  The problem though is that I am having a mighty hard time deciding on which blogs to pick here.  If I didn't pick yours, don't be blue.  I still read them and follow them.  I follow a LOT of blogs.  Well, here goes.

Marriage Confessions

This wasn't a tough choice.  Katie is this young married mommy to the cutest little Bean man.  She's just like you and me, getting through life and its surprises one day at a time.  But she does it with awareness and self-discovery.  It's amazing that someone so young could know so much not just because she's a know-it-all but because she's always willing to put herself out there, completely open up and expose herself, her marriage and her decision making, and ask for advice.  That, ladies and gents, is what makes her amazing and totally worth reading.


Pioneer Woman

I'm not so sure this needs a long description, but in case you're the last person on Earth who doesn't follow her, she's a city gal who married the love of her life and moved to the country.  There she works cattle, raises her 4 kids, and cooks ridiculously good food.  While you're there, check out the Love Story.  It is amazing.

Oh and this guy? This guy here is Charlie, her beloved basset hound.

McNulty Quads

You ever read about someone's life and wonder how so much positive energy can be passed on just from words?  Gen McNulty went through some tough things in her young life, part of which gave her these 4 gorgeous, healthy quadruplets.  And yet, every word she writes radiates positive energy.  I love reading something that makes me want to be a better person.  And the pics of her adorable children help.


Adorkable Annie

Okay, there is VERY little dorky about Annie, but plenty of adorableness. She's just another one of those girls in her 20's writing about life, but she's got a very sunny outlook on it and that's what draws me in.  As you can see, she also has boxers - 3 of them.  And we all know my obsession with boxers.  Since we can't get another one (or 2 or 3) just yet, I have to settle by looking at other people's beautiful jowly creatures.



Hyperbole and a Half

Okay, I don't really know how to describe this one.  This writer...the blog...she draws these pictures that are so funny that I end up literally laughing out loud.  I cannot begin to tell you how freakin' funny these are.  And one of a kind.

Check out this giveaway

So a very good friend of mine has a blog too where she posts amazing pictures of gorgeous flowers and things like this:

Oh, did I mention that she's the auntie to my best friend's baby boy?  Ah how I miss those puffy little cheeks.

Moving on.  This week Jane is doing a giveaway on her blog here.


You can have up to 5 entries!

Check it out and don't forget to look out for some puffy munchkin cheeks.

Are you a blogger?

I love reading blogs.  Wait, hold on, that didn't come out right.  What I meant to say is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading blogs.  Something about reading someone's blog makes me feel like I am invited to share a part of their lives.  Granted when it's someone like Ree from the Pioneer Woman or Katie from Confessions of a Young Married Couple, I'm just a tiny little spec in their hardcore line of followers, but I still feel pretty special.

There is nothing like finding a really great blog and taking a weekend to read their past entries.  I love discovering about their every day lives, happiness and struggles.  Most of the time it makes me feel like I'm not alone in something I am dealing with or, in the very least, it keeps me entertained while Jon is watching golf on TV (gag me).  When I read back, I feel like I am getting to know this person behind the keys.  It's a special bond.

What I guess I'm getting at is that I often follow lots of blogs, but don't really know everyone who reads mine.  If you're a blogger, let me know!  I'd love to check out your blog and get to know you a little better.  If you're not, but have an awesome blog that you love, pass it on for all of us to read.

Check out this product review

I follow a few blogs myself and one of my favorite ones is Steece's Pieces.  Suz (it's like we're long time friends although I am 75% sure she has NO clue I exist) is like the most positive person I know.  I have been following her blog since pretty much the day that she gave birth to her VERY adorable quads, but I even went back to day 1 of her blog and read the whole thing from top to bottom.  Since then, I've followed her blog and check back daily.  Her positive take on the world and life even after struggling with Quads just makes my heart melt and always puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day.  She's pretty amazing.

Anyways, she's doing this review for Tropicana and unless you've lived under a rock, you've seen the commercials about saving lots of $ on things like amusement parks and massages.  Well now you can check out all the other details and all the awesomeness they offer via her review blog here:
http://reviewsbysuz.blogspot.com/2010/04/tropicana-1-getting-started.html

And while you're at it, enter to win a $50 gift card!