BBQ Shrimp

Sweet and tangy...a wonderful way to prepare shrimp. I grew up with all our shrimp being made this way...very kid friendly.

BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Peeled and De-veined Uncooked Shrimp
1/4 stick of Salted Butter
1/2 cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
1 tsp Minced Garlic

Cook shrimp, minced garlic, and butter in saucepan until shrimp are mostly all cooked (turn a orange/pink color). Coat shrimp in BBQ sauce and continue cooking until done, warm through and through and shrimp is completely cooked.  

Serve with your favorite side dishes and enjoy!

Powdered Sugar Donuts

So easy and so delicious...they taste a lot like funnel cakes.

 Powdered Sugar Donuts

Ingredients:
1 pkg Pre-Made Biscuits (they come in a roll)
4 cups Vegetable Oil
1 up (or more, as needed) Powdered Sugar/Confectioners Sugar

Heat oil to 350 degrees. Use a bottle cap (Coke, etc.) to press a hole in the center of each of the biscuits. Save the donut hole and cook with the rings. Fry each donut and donut hole in the oil until golden brown on each side, approximately 30-45 seconds each side. Place cooked donuts on a paper towel covered plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea!

I Blame Instagram

I am going to blame the ease and speed of Instagram for the lack of blogging...It takes me upwards of an hour (at least) to upload pictures to Blogger because all of my pictures are on my Iphone :( So I have not had the time nor drive to spend such precious time uploading.

If you missed my INCREDIBLE (lol) blog posts, I will be continuing them but for instant gratification and daily pictures of my adorable kiddos...follow my Instagram, paisandbash.

Well, life has continued to stay busy here in good ol' North Carolina. The weather alone has kept us all on our toes as it has been highs of 77 degrees and 30 degrees in the same week. I am ready for SPRING WEATHER! The kiddos are definitely ready and sick and tired of being cooped up inside! This is my first winter being a stay at home mama and having to spend every rainy or cold day indoors! It hasn't been easy. We have gotten pretty creative but still we are a family that NEEDS sunshine and warm afternoons.

We are coming up on the eve of Paisley's 1st Birthday and I am just baffled at how quickly the time has flown by. I am eagerly planning her birthday party because I am crazy and I just don't know if I can let them have a birthday without a grand celebration. My babies are my blessings and they deserve to be celebrated EVERY year! I did try to go a little easier on myself this year by choosing a theme of Easter for her party. It has made finding decorations and food ideas very simple. I cannot wait to post pictures from the big day.

Update on the kiddos:

Paisley is almost 365 days old! She is becoming a delightful little girl. She LOVES blueberries and yogurt. I think she would rather blueberries then M&Ms or any other type of candy. She is eating three meals a day of real food, no more baby food...that stuff is expensive and disgusting anyway. She will pretty much try anything at this point. We have held off on all meats, per the pediatricians advice, and will start introducing some after she turns a year old.

She loves to scrunch up her nose when you talk to her or if she thinks something is great...her smile has become a nose scrunch! She chases the cat everywhere...loves the dog too but not like that cat.

She could care less about TV, she is not a visual learner. She yearns to be held all the time. She does not walk yet. She will walk around furniture and push objects everywhere but no solo steps yet, this doesn't really make me sad as I am not sure I am ready for all the head bruises. She has 4 teeth and enough hair to put a bow in! She is pretty quiet, she babbles but no words. Her brother is the ONLY one who can make her laugh, like a real rolling laugh. She thinks he is hilarious...they are meant to be best friends forever and I am so grateful they have each other.

Sebastian is 29 months going on 30 years! He thinks he knows everything and has to help with everything! Every time he sees me in the kitchen or pulling out a tool or trying to clean something he bolts over babbling, "I help?" His vocabulary has increased astronomically! He is saying full sentences and I love it. Some of his most popular: "Mama wook!" "I eat." "Where Winnie?" "Wha you doin'?" "Where Daddy?"

He loves the outdoors, movies and his sister. We are always trying to do anything outdoors to give him his daily fresh air fix. He knows how to Facetime his Daddy on Mommy's phone. He looks positively adorable in every outfit and adores baths. He hates having his hair washed, brushed and cut. His current fab is Choo Choos and dinosaurs. He loves apples...I am asked several times a day if he can have an apple. He is working on sharing and be friendly with other children his age, he is not mean, just not sure how to act around other toddlers.
He absolutely adores his cousins, Emma and Lilly. They dote on him and so of course he just LOVES it. Every time we see a blonde 6-8 year old, I am asked..."Where Emma?" "At house?"

So, to sum it all up, this household is busier than ever and we love it. There is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for the life I have been blessed with. My family is my life...forever and always. Another update coming soon, I promise.

Crafts and Field Trips

We have had a fun and busy week of activities. Daddy had Monday off for MLK day so we decided to go on one of the field trips I couldn't do by myself...Discovery Place! We also borrowed my two nieces cause everything is more fun with friends. I am so glad Jonathan could go with us cause Paisley was having a very needy/grumpy day and Sebastian was bouncing from one activity to the next! It was also very busy...I guess Discovery Place is a great MLK day activity.

It was also one of the nicest weather days we have had in a while at a blistering 50 degrees lol...but we soaked up some rays!

I'm going to go backwards for a minute but we had a delicious chili dinner with all the family on Sunday night to show off our new patio and make s'mores!

He seems to love it!

Wednesday marked one of my worst days of grumpy baby...ever! I have no idea what was bothering her but Paisley was just miserable! Maybe her teeth but the already broke through so idk...lots of Tylenol, crying, holding and naps!!!

The rest of the week has been in the 20-30s outside so we have had to find stuff indoors to do. We went to Gymboree on Thursday.

And finished up the week with pudding painting today. 

We are very excited that Emma and Lilly are going to have a sleepover tonight...should make for a fun and busy evening. 

Paisley 9 Months Old - A Week or so Late

My baby girl is 9 months old...OMG...it feels as though I was just figuring out how to decorate her nursery and she has already been here 9 months. She is a busy little bee...crawling, standing, eating, chatting and more.

She started crawling around 8 1/2 months and is unstoppable now. In about a two week time frame, she went from just sitting up, to crawling, to pulling up on everything, to walking around furniture. It looks like she is in line for keeping up with her brother's milestone timeline. He walked at 10 1/2 months so we will see if she does the same.

She has sprouted little white tooth buds! On January 14th she broke through her first two lower teeth...they have a ways to go but they are there!

She has just learned how to wave...she even says what sounds like "hi" when she does it. It is very cute because she always has a huge grin when doing it. In fact, she is just naturally a smiley girl...she smiles and giggles at almost everything. She is my happy girl!

As far as eating goes, we began introducing baby food a little bit ago but she is not a fan. She LOVES food, just not baby food. I am not very good at ensuring she gets all the proper food groups so I sneak some baby food in there at least once a day and then I let her enjoy some bites of whatever we are eating...minus meat. The pediatrician recommends no meat til 12 months so I do follow that closely, but she likes spaghetti, potatoes, rice, cereal, fruit, soup...whatever we are eating, I try to see of she will try it. She is still only on breast milk as far as liquids go. She nurses 4 times a day and once before bed...it's her comforter so I'm not in any hurry to take that away from her...if she starts using her new teeth, I may change my mind lol. 

She is a huge fashionista!!! This child looks gorgeous in everything! I love dressing her up and her wardrobe is probably worth more than mine but that's the fun of being the mommy. 

Her hair is getting longer and a bit thicker but definitely not at bow strength yet, we stick to headbands. Her eyes are still the beautiful smoky blue she was born with...sometimes they look green, if she is wearing a mint color but either way, they are beautiful...I hope they stay that way as she gets older.

She experienced her first snow this Christmas...not a fan! She didn't hate it, if I was holding her, but sit in it...I don't think so! I guess it's a good thing we do not get snow but once a year.

Paisley has not had her 9 month check up yet, she and her brother are on the very tail end of a terrible case of the flu and bronchitis. Once she is completely over that, we will schedule her well visit.

So, to sum it all up, this little angel is our princess and we love spoiling and loving on her every chance we get. She is the baby of our family and currently the youngest grandchild on both sides of the family. She LOVES getting kisses and even gives a few of her own.

We love you so much baby girl...please stay this precious forever, Paisley Sofia!