Banana with 1/2 Blueberry Muffins

I have tried making a lot of "healthy" muffin recipes and they're usually bland. I end up throwing them away after 2 bites. My son (who eats anything) wouldn't even eat them. Thankfully, my search ended after last nights batch. I took Martha Stewarts recipe for "Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins" and adapted it just a little bit to make it my own. I took out the word "healthy" (BUT, they are still healthy) and I added 1/2 in front of the blueberry because my son, who I previously said eats anything actually doesn't and he prefers raw blueberries:)

Banana with 1/2 Blueberry Muffins

1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ (I didn't have any so I made it without this)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas
1/3 cup low-fat milk (can use any milk you'd like)
1/2 tsp honey
1tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries - It's one cup if you put blueberries in all of the batter.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. (This batch actually made more so I put extra batter in a mini-muffin tin)
2. Whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each egg. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork; stir in milk, vanilla, and honey.
4. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mix and banana mix to the butter mixture; starting and ending with the flour.
5. If you want to do half with blueberries and half without, pour half of the batter into the paper liners before you fold in the blueberries to the rest of the batter.
6. Cook 20-30 minutes.

YUM!

Nostalgia

When I was a little girl, my mom and I created goodnight kiss routines. For example, It would be something like a kiss on the right cheek, kiss on the left, kiss on the forehead, kiss on lips, goodnight. I remember looking forward to our little routines. When I was older I thought about it and told myself they were silly. Until 2 nights ago, I asked my son for kisses. He gave me a "nose" (Eskimo) kiss and then a kiss on the lips. He did the same tonight and it melts my heart. Enjoy every moment!! Xo

"Diaper Dump" Baby Shower

My friend Monica was pregnant with boy #2 so we wanted to throw her a small baby shower. One of my other friends came up with the theme "Diaper Dump" and we went with it! We bought black plastic table cloths and cut yellow duck tape in small strips to look like a road, used buckets for food, and dump trucks as decor. We had the party at a nearby park so the toddlers could play. Here are a few pictures.

The table with the food

 

 

 

 The Cake - from Publix (baby didn't yet have a name) :)

 



Diaper Cake - we rolled diapers and put rubber bands around them. I found the caution tape on sale at Michael's Craft Store. For the confetti, i took colored paper and put it in my paper shredder. (Never know when you're gonna need a paper shredder). The truck on top is from Target!

 

 

 

This is Monica, the new mom of 2:)

 

 

 

 

 

"Little Man" 1st Birthday

As my son is about to turn 2 (a week from tomorrow), i thought now would be a good time to post about his 1st birthday party we threw him last year:)

I started planning Jaxton's birthday around the same time Pinterest became popular. Like many, i had quickly become a Pinterest junkie and i was going to use it for my advantage. I knew i wanted to have a "Little Man" party and although i had many ideas of what i wanted to incorporate into his party - i just needed a little guidance.

I took my vision to my older bro (who is my Photoshop master) and together, we created the invititation. And because i am HUGE on THANK YOU notes, we created those too!

 

 Jaxton wasn't feeling well on his birthday and you can tell in his pictures but we managed to get a few smiles from the kiddo. (Turns out, it was Roseola Fever).






Some decor we made...

 

We had a photo booth area with "Little Man" Props

 

When it was time for the Smash Cake, we traveled outside where Jaxton's highchair was already set up. I made the "ONE" banner thats on his highchair and also a "Happy Birthday Jaxton" Banner that is in a picture above. I don't give Jax too many sweets so i found a recipe i wanted to try for his cake made out bananas, blueberries, and applesauce.

Starting to get happy...

 

 

After all was said and done, it was a good day. I had a hard time seeing my baby



in a funky mood and at the time we didnt know what was going on with him:( A lot of other details weren't photographed but the details aren't important. To me, getting through that first year was a victory! XO