Owen's 3rd Birthday Party

My coworker Dave's son Owen had his 3rd Birthday party Saturday and was kind enough to invite Sawyer. It was his first bounce house experience and he had a blast. He also got to catch up with his buddy Evan (who is only a week younger). It was crazy to see how much they have changed since their last play date. Now they are chatting and playing with each other.

Happy Birthday Owen!

Here is a "then" and "now" pic of Sawyer and Evan. Boy, how they have grown in 6 months

Last time we had our boys on the blanket they weren't even able to sit up!

The awesome Bounce House

Dave & Owen

Me & Sawyer

Tasha & Parker

Wendy & Evan

Let's try this bad boy out!

Getting in to it! 

JUMP!!!

I'm pooped Mom!

Lost & Found's GAME DAY

I've had the privilege of being on the Young Ambassador's Board for Lost & Found. Lost & Found is an amazing organization that provides grief support services (free of charge) for children, young adults and their families who are grieving the death of a loved one. Our Board decided to come up with an event that was fun and not like anything else offered in Springfield as a fundraiser. I think we accomplished that with our 1st Annual GAME DAY! It was a tailgating/watch party for the Mizzou vs. Alabama Game at Springfield Brewing Company. I was the chair of the Marketing Committee and had the honor of designing their marketing materials. I am very proud of how everything turned out. Especially the little Balloon Arch Trina, Conor and I built (yes we built it! straight from a youtube video).
The event was a huge success, exceeding our fundraising goal and receiving amazing support from local businesses and the community. We will definitely be having a second annual event next year and I am looking forward to being a part of it again. Thanks to everyone who came out to help Lost & Found!!!
For more information on Lost & Found visit their website at: www.lostandfoundozarks.com

Sign I created and finished Balloon Arch

Ballon Arch building process.

Posing with our masterpiece

The guys at Brew Co. smoked the meat overnight

Awesome food made by Springfield Brewing Company

Chalkboard Artwork for our Raffle Prizes

Have you met my husband the crazy raffle seller? He started with a full roll

Melissa and I modeling the amazing raffle headband and hat Trina's mom donated

Pre-game entertainment from Bobo

John and Matt (aka Frank)

GAME DAY Pilsner Glasses

My parents came out to watch Mizzou and support Lost & Found

Sawyer excited to see Daddy after the event

Adventures in baby-food Making: Chicken

Making home-made pureed meat is probably the last thing I would ever see my self doing! It sounds gross and weird BUT I committed to attempting to make all of Sawyer's food and making meat should be no different. Of course I decided to start with chicken because I'll be honest I know NOTHING about cooking red meat or even ham so we are starting with what I know and then I will try to teach myself.

Usually we buy SmartChicken because it is hormone, antibiotics and preservative free. Dillon's now has a brand of chicken (Simple Truth Organic) that is exactly the same as SmartChicken but tons cheaper (like half). It worked great! We added some frozen carrots, half an onion and we had already made broccoli for dinner so threw a few florets in and it made a really nice Chicken Dinner for Sawyer.

Dillon's new SmartChicken- like chicken breasts

Steps

1. Add chicken and vegetables of your choice (we used frozen carrots & half an onion) to a pot covered in water

2. Cook on medium to high heat for 25-30 minutes covered until meat & veggies are very soft
3. Strain out stock in a separate container to use for processing.
4. shred or cut chicken into smaller pieces.

5. Put into a food processor, blender or Baby Bullet add some of the stock from cooking to the blender. I added about 1/2 cup. Puree. 

6. Put in storage containers, freeze or refrigerator depending on when you plan to use them. (Here are some rules of thumb – 3 days in refrigerator or 30 days in freezer)

Made 38 oz. of food which is more than 9 servings for Sawyer

The Math

This turned out to be way cheaper than I anticipated. When I think about cooking meat, I expect it to cost a lot. With just 2 chicken breasts, half a bag of frozen carrots, half an onion and some already cooked broccoli, the total only came to $4.02. That's a whole chicken meal practically! It made a ton too!

HOME-MADE

2 chicken breasts at  $3.27 for 1.37 lbs, half a bag of frozen carrots for 50 cents and half an onion for 25 cents – made 38 oz of baby food = $4.02

Total cost per ounce = 11 cents

STORE BOUGHT

Gerber 3rd Food Chicken & Mixed Vegetable comes in 1 – 6 oz. jar for $1.25 each,
so 38 ounces = $6.33

Total cost per ounce = 17 cents

TOTAL SAVINGS PER OUNCE = 6 cents

1 day of Gerber 3rd Food Chicken & Mixed Veggie (1.5 containers or 9 ounces per day) = $1.63

1 day of Home-made Chicken & Veggies (9 ounces per day) = 99 cents

Total Savings per day = 64 cents

Total Savings per week (7 days) = $4.48

Total Savings per month (30 day month) = $19.20

Total Savings per year (365 days) = $233.60

Sawyer's Vacation at Grandma & Grandpa's

Back in August, John and I decided to take a trip to Vegas to celebrate our 30th birthdays. Sawyer stayed back with my parents for the 4 days we were gone. It wasn't until last night I got to see the adorable pictures my parents got while we were gone. I know they are about 2 months late but thought they were worth sharing!

Sawyer with his Grandma

Battime in the sink

Going for walks

morning smiles!

eating with the grandparents 

Lots of playtime! 

Patiently waiting to pick us up from the airport

Adorable sign for us

Playing in the boats at the airport before our plane arrived

hugs at the airport

Hidden Gems: Birthday Pics

I was going through my mom's camera last night and found some Hidden 30th Birthday Party Photo Gems! There not only is a great family photo but the photo shoot Trina and I thought would be a good idea. I can't help but laugh looking back on them. Enjoy!

Hilarious!

No we're not posing!

Your face Trina is AWESOME!

Just getting some night rays!