Saturday, August 29, 2015

Scout's Sip & See

My wonderful girlfriends Trina & Megan did it again! They planned the most adorable little shower for us but this time guests got to get in some baby snuggles. They hosted a little meet and greet about three weeks after Scout's arrival at our house complete with yummy desserts (little mini pies even), champagne and a cute little game all about our new little man. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends in our life, we are truly thankful! Scout is sure lucky to have so many sweet ladies who wanted to come snuggle him!

check out all the photos here: https://karitravels.shutterfly.com/4117

Hello girls, I'm new here!
The girls even got a gift for Big Brother, so thoughtful!
I seriously have the best girlfriends, ever!
Trina & Darlene's Mini Pies were adorable and yummy!
I can drink at my own baby shower, now that is good planning! Thanks Ladies

Amanda & Ashley were rock stars and got almost them all right!



Little Brookyln got to join in on the fun too!
Darlene made him one of her signature bunny rabbits

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Meal Delivery: HelloFresh

Meal Delivery services are all the rage and for good reason. They help people, like me, who are short on time still have an opportunity to cook tasty/healthy meals without having to even step foot in a store or search for recipes. Being a new mom to two kiddos, my normal dinner routine is usually organic chicken nuggets and Annie's macaroni and cheese (trying to be somewhat healthy) so when I heard about these services, I quickly decided we would try it. We are trying both HelloFresh and Blue Apron. Here I will share our experiences in case you have been thinking about it but had questions.

This blog will cover our first HelloFresh Delivery and I will review my Blue Apron delivery next week.

HelloFresh

www.hellofresh.com (use code: F5GXE4)

HOW IT WORKS: You select meal choices the Wednesday before your delivery for the next week. You have an option of 5 meals depending on your taste and they must be entered before the deadline (midnight) or they send you the default meals for that week. You pick your delivery day of Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday and it arrives at your door step in a big box with cold packs, farm fresh ingredients and recipes. They have classic box which includes meats or a veggie box too. We choose the Classic box 3 meals per week for 2 people, cost $54 but they have a 4 person option for $114. Your first box though is only $34. You have to sign up for continued delivery but you can skip any week for no penalty or can cancel at any time. 

HOW IT ARRIVES: In a large box with cold packs individually wrapped per meal.

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OUR MEALS:

Tex Mex Risotto 


Ingreditents: arborio rice, cumin, cilantro, garlic, shallot, jalapeno, corn on the cob, red bell pepper, stock concentrate, Monterrey jack cheese
Cook time: 50 min.

Vedict: Delicious. John and I both loved the flavor especially that it had a little spice but not too bad. I had never made risotto and the instructions made it easy. This was John's favorite of the three.
_ _ _ _

Chicken and Nectarine Panzanella


Ingredients: chicken breast, nectarine, demi baguette, fresh mozzarella, mint, arugula, shallot, white wine vinegar, and zucchini
Cook time: 35 min.

Verdict: I ha never heard of Panzanella but this was my favorite of the three! The mix of mint and vinegar in dressing was perfect, the warm tender chicken and cruncy home-made croutons on top were the icing on the cake. Deceivingly filling!

_ _ _ _

Crispy Skillet Chicken


Ingredients: chicken, cracked Bulgar, carrot, zucchini, parsley, lemon, stock concentrate, dried apricots and shallot
Cook time: 40 min.
Verdict: Good but our least favorite. The Bulgar and veggies were yummy but we had trouble getting the chicken cooked completely with the suggested cook time. I ended up cooking it for an extra 20 minutes but that made it less juicy. I wouldn't make this again.
_ _ _ _ _
Finally Opinion: We will definitely be ordering HelloFresh again. Was very pleased with the 
way it was delivered and how helpful the instructions were. We had one item arrive different that was indicated (fresh mozzarella actually came as packaged) and I emailed their Help Desk and they credited my account for the mistake.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Scout // 2 Months

Scout is 2 months!We are loving every moment with our little guy and adjusting nicely to having two kiddos. We went for his 2-month check up today with his doctor and he looks great. He had to get 4 immunizations (1 oral), he handled it well but it was so sad. He starts school in 3 weeks, which of course means I go back to work in 3 weeks. It is flying by and I know it is going to be much harder this round to go back. I absolutely love my job but being my last child/last maternity leave, I am savoring every moment with him. Say some prayers for me...tears will be shed I am sure.

Here is how Sawyer stacked up when he was two months old, Scout is bigger in all areas except his head, ha!: 
http://www.hamratime.com/2012/04/sawyer-2-month-checkup.html

Scout 2 Month stats

weight: 13 lbs. 1 oz.  - 68 percentile (at 1 month he was 11 lbs.)

height: 23 1/4 inches - 61 percentile (at 1 month he was 22 inches)

clothing: all 3 month and 3-6 month. His 0-3 month socks are too small on his big feet

diapers: moved him yesterday to Size 2

eating: breast milk, eating every 3-5 hours depending on how active he is. He feeds for about 10-15 minutes. He went the longest between feedings this weekend at 8.5 hours. Last night he went 7 hours.

sleeping: averages 4-5 hours at night. Sleeping less during the day but still sleeps about 50% of the time. Last weekend he slept the longest he has yet about 7 hours.

other updates: In true Hamra boy fashion we have a talker and a mover. He loves to chat and even sounds like he can say "hi". Trying really hard to rollover but hasn't mastered it quite yet. Not really a fan of the nap nanny any more but really likes his vibrating bouncy seat and still loving the Baby Bjorn. I just ordered a Ergo Baby carrier to try because the Bjorn has been hurting my lower back, can't wait to try it out.

Scout Chats:
<iframe width="500" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oy6VMy3gq_M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="500" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8SzIqk0mdmM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Big brother helping before school
Loves his bouncy seat
hanging out with daddy
Family dinner at the Johnson's - possibly the last one before they move
snuggles with Auntie Megan
And his Godmother Trina

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Weekend in Pictures: St. Louis

Another weekend, another St. Louis road trip! This round we had a full schedule.
When we arrived, we took Sawyer to the Science Center for his first time. He loved it, particularly the exhibits on space and dinosaurs. He came home with a blow-up space shuttle. He also really liked building an arch, especially knocking it down.
Friday night, my awesome parents watched the boys as John and I attended our 7th Incubus concert at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. It was another amazing show and perfect weather for an outside concert. Bonus is that Scout slept from 10:30 - 5:00 AM and went 9 hours between feeding, that is insane! My parents must have the magic touch.
Saturday, we planned to go to Six Flags. I won tickets on the radio but we woke up to storms so decided it would be best to come back another time...Sawyer took it way better than expected. We did get to drive through Lone Elk Park on the way out of town. The boys both were pooped and slept the whole way home after a necessary stop at White Castle.

We built an arch

Can't wait to knock it down
 
No mom and dad, don't go!
ready for the concert!
Pretty good seats!!
Our attempt at a cool selfie...John's face is hilarious

we got one!







 Meanwhile back at the hotel....

enjoying his Science Center souvenir




Lone Elk Park


loving life
Big Elk
look at that rack!
And he's out!
Scout too!