I don't cook, but here's a recipe!

I am not a good cook and I am not afraid to admit it! When I do cook, I try and make things that are very easy and don't involve much prep. Our friends Trevor and Aimee invited us over a few weeks ago and Aimee served some amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup. I was intrigued the moment she told me that the recipe was ridiculously easy. EASY you say......I'm in!

Last night I made this recipe for Joey's parents and it was a total hit!

Enjoy, and please let me know if you try it and like it!

Aimee's EASY Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 jars of Trader Joe's Double Roasted Salsa
4 cans of chicken broth
1 bag of frozen corn
1 Costco Rotissere Chicken

Put it all in a pot and heat it up for about 30 minutes! We garnished ours with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and fresh avocado.

***Last night we didn't make it to Costco so we just used chicken breast that we cut up and cooked before putting it into the soup. This worked wonderfully!

Disneyland!!

We took Zachary to Disneyland for the very first time a few weeks ago.  It was very crowded, so we only stayed for a few hours, but Joey and I now have annual passes, so we can go back again and again!

We rode "It's a Small World" holiday first.  Zachary usually loves to point at things, but there was so much to see and hear on the ride that his little finger didn't even know where to point!  :)  It was adorable.

We also got to meet Mickey Mouse!  Zachary loved him, inspected him, and touched his nose, cheek, and eye.  He wasn't scared at all and was actually smiling at Mickey a lot!

We went on King Arthur's Carousel for our last ride of the night.  He held on tight with Daddy and really enjoyed himself.

He was such a good boy and we can't wait to go back!

 Walking through the gate for the very first time!

The traditional Flower Mickey photo

 Zachary got a close look at the Christmas Tree!

 I love that face!!


Nana kept Zachary entertained as we waiting for It's a Small World!

Zachary's First Disney Ride EVER!

 Almost there!

 He held on tight the entire time!

He studied everything!

He met my old boss, Mickey Mouse!

He wasn't scared one bit!

Nana wanted to visit with Mickey too!

Mouse ears were a must!

They didn't stay on very long!

King Arthur's Carousel was FUN!

 He loved riding this.....and the line was super short!  :)

 He held on the entire time....with Daddy!

The yawns started and we knew it was time to go home!

We look forward to MANY more visits in 2011!

9 Months Old!

Zachary is now 9 months old and his little personality is hilarious!  (I know!  Once again I am way behind in posting this update, but we are just having too much fun!)

He is a really happy boy!  He points at everything with his cute little pointer finger!  It's just too cute!  He is loving the Christmas tree and Christmas lights he sees.

He has now started to lean forward when he is being held to get a "kiss." It's over the top cute!

He crawls EVERYWHERE and walks along the couch, ottoman, and bed while holding on.  He is also starting to let go and "stand" for short periods of time!  Watch out world!  He will be walking before we know it!

He is still a great little eater and is enjoying more and more food.  He LOVES the Yo baby yogurt!

I took him to his 9 month well baby appointment and he is doing great!  19 lbs 10.5 ozs and 28 inches long!   He is SUCH a brave boy when he gets shots now!   He cries for less than 10 seconds and stops right away after I scoop him up and hug him.

Joey and I just can't seem to get enough of him!

Here are a few highlights of Zachary's busy 9th month:

 Zachary rested with Daddy to get over his little stomach bug

 My sweet, happy boy!

 Zachary's First Thanksgiving

 A little ride around the neighborhood on Thanksgiving

 Meeting the wonderful Marconi Family!

(He loved Val!)

 Christmas card photo shoot

He loved the lights and the ornaments!

9 Month Photo Shoot!

 He's cute......even when he is crying!

 Happy 9 Months to me!!

Tracy's Favorite Things - Mommy Edition

Cold season is in full swing and it seems like Zachary has had a runny nose since before Halloween!

The latest addition to my Favorite Things list is:

BOOGIE WIPES 

These look like baby wipes, but they are specially made for noses because they have saline in them!  

They literally melt crusty boogers away! 

They are so gentle on Zachary's nose, even when it is red and sore from being wiped over and over again!

These have truly been a live saver when Zachary just can't seem to handle another swipe of his nose!

If you sign up HERE they will send you a coupon for $0.50 off a package. 

I try and buy them when they are on sale at Babies R Us.  (2 pack for $6....plus I used the coupon last time!!)

I am now including these as one of my "Can't Live Without" items I give to new Mommy friends for their Baby Showers!!

I use the "Fresh Scent" type for Zachary, but I have heard the "Grape" ones are good too!  

(My sister-in-law Tammie warned me to stay away from the Menthol ones!!)

Have you ever used Boogie Wipes?  Do you love them as much as I do? 

I would love to hear from you Mommies!!

The Puppies!

Zachary adores our dogs Molly and Calli.  If he is upset, we show him his puppies and they seem to calm him down.  He now points at them and has been smiling at them for awhile.

They adore him, but they get SO excited that they just want to shower him with kisses. Because of that, we don't putl Zachary down on the ground with them too often.

Here are some photos that show just how much they love him:

 Really Molly?

 I promise he really does love her!

 Calli was loving it!

Tracy's Favorite Things

Christmas is 20 days away!  If you know a woman who is short on time, here is a GREAT gift idea!

I can't live without my HAIR TOWEL!!

I have been using a hair towel for 10 years!  (I've had two of them over that time span)  It is a super absorbant towel that you put your hair up into after you shower.  It absorbs much more water than a regular towel and it a lot less bulky.  The more water you get in the hair towel, the shorter your blow drying time will be!  What a time saver!  (Plus, your hair will be healthier if you blow dry it less!)

I have bought both of mine from Sephora.  I wrap my hair in it and use a hair elastic to secure it.  I wear my hair towel as I put on my make-up so that it has plenty of time to absorb the water off of my wet hair.

(Beware of the "turban" type hair towels!  They seem easier to use because they have a button on the back so you don't need to use a hair elastic, but I have bought one in the past and it did not absorb nearly the amount of water the rectangle towel did!)

I use and recommend the Aquis towel.  They are around $20, but you rarely have to replace it!  Remember.....I have only had two in over 10 years!!

Click here for a link to the towel from Sephora:   HAIR TOWEL! 

Click here to check out the selection from Amazon.com: HAIR TOWEL

Hopefully you can pass along this GREAT time saving gift to a friend.....and go ahead, buy one for yourself too!  We all need to save some time!  :)

8 Months Old!

Once again, I have fallen behind on updating the blog.  I have been putting in some extra hours at work and I just haven't had too much time to sit down and blog.  :(

Zachary is now 8 months old!  He is doing so well and seems to be learning new things all the time!  It's unbelievable to watch him try to figure things out.  He is definitely a problem solver.   He does things that amaze me on a daily basis!   

I didn't take very many pictures this month, so this update consists of his 8 month sticker shots and some from Halloween!  We did have a fun month visiting the Pumpkin Patch and celebrating Halloween.

 Uncle Bob used Zachary for a Halloween photo shoot!

 Zachary loved it!

 So silly!

My little cowboy!

He loved his tick-or-treat sack!

Crazy Uncle Brian!

He actually held his own candy......and didn't want to let go!

Zachary and his cousins!

Just the boys!

So serious!

This month he fell in love with Sophie the Giraffe!

What a face!

Helping with his laundry!

8 Months Old!