Banana Bread...Heavenly!

By popular demand...here is the best banana bread ever!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 (8 ounce) package low fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Directions: Cream the butter or margarine and cream cheese together. Gradually add the white sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the mashed bananas, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Add flour, baking powder, and soda; mix until batter is just moist.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 hour(plus, depending on the size of the bread pan) minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
I baked mine in a bundt pan for 45 mins and it was perfect!

Enjoy!

Muscle Men

My stepmom donated some old costumes. Enjoy the pictures!
Gage as a bee:


Cousins, Nathan, Josh and Uber:
All four!

New Stuffed Lovie for the Crib??

Can you see the newest stuffed lovie for Gage's crib? Ha! He is pretty territorial about his bed, so I was surprised that he even let Jillian stay in there long enough for this picture to be taken, but they were both good sports!

It's Up, Runnin and Beautiful!!!

A great big thanks to Jennesa with Once Upon A Blog. She did such a great job designing the blog, wouldn't you agree. My goal with this blog is to keep family and friends updated on the little events in our lives. Things change so quickly with 2 little babes in the house, so it will not only keep you updated, but serve as a reminder for me.

Check back often and add us to your favorites. I have several post in the editing process, one of which is Easter! If you have a blog, let me know about it so I can add you to my favorite bloggers!

Physiological Footwear

My dad, stepmom, and their kids were in town from Canada this week and we had a great visit. My stepmom, Kim, had on these very interesting shoes. She bought them in Vegas and said they were great. They are called MBT Physiological Footwear and they do more than just look cute! Because of the shape of the bottom they provide an instability that forced your muscles to work. That is my kind of workout. All I have to do is wear the shoes and my legs are working.

I got the MBT Kaya in Navy. I was walking out the door with Dave when I noticed the precious little box on my doorstep. It was my new shoes. So, even though I had on some cute ballet flats, I decided that I needed to wear my new shoes on our outing. Well, when we got to our destination I realized that these new shoes were going to take some getting used too. Not 30 steps into our venture I realized that my legs were actually getting tired. Now, granted, this is coming from a mom who has either been pregnant, breastfeeding or both since 2005...I haven't been working out much. But, they are great. They are super comfy and so far a nice way to tone my legs. The only downfall is that these puppies cost a pretty penny. But, you are looking into the newest in workout footwear, these may be the greatest shoe ever made!

Oh, don't expect any before and after pictures of my legs either! I'm not that committed!

Jillian: 4 Months

I can't believe my baby girl is 4 months old. The same thing happened with Gage. I felt like he had always been a member of the family, but he was still so young. The same is for Jillian. In the past 4 months she has integrated herself into every area of our lives and I love every minute of it. We started rice cereal...which she still tries to push out of her mouth, but things are getting better.

The little Misses doesn't take a pacifier but chooses her fingers instead...making "I Love You" in sign language. She is sleeping through the night...a feat which took Gage almost 7 months to master. It is tough to get this little girl to smile, but roll her on her back when she first wakes up from a nap and those gummy grins will surely follow. I love having a little girl to follow Gage. She is fun to dress and play with and I know she will teach her brother how to love a girl properly!

I love you Jilly!

Enjoy the rest of the pics!

birth picture

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months

Boring Blog Be Gone!

Alright, I know I attempted this blog back in Sept 2007, but I had a baby, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then just life in general. However, with the help of Jenessa this blog is going to be great. I am on the waiting list right now to give this thing a much needed makeover. So, come back. I promise to post lots of updates on family, food, shopping and more. I am working on a post right now, A Few of My Favorite Things, that should be fun!