Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

Here's another delicious recipe that I got from a friend and tried out for our small group the other night... it was a hit! Let me just forewarn you that it's extremely addicting and it makes a HUGE portion, so you could easily cut this in half and have leftovers. Hope you like it as much as we did! It will definitely remain a 'staple' in our house for a delicious fall treat!



Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

1-8 oz. package Cream Cheese softened
13 oz. jar of Pumpkin Butter, or canned Pumpkin
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 tsp. Vanilla
1-8 oz. tub Whipped Topping thawed

Mix Cream Cheese in a medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Add Pumpkin, Sugar, and Vanilla. Mix on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in Whipped Topping and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with Fresh Fruit, Ginger Almond or Chocolate Cookie Thins. {I served with graham crackers}

Low fat version; substitute Light or Fat-Free Cream Cheese and Whipped Topping.

Wordless Wednesday.

My chalkboard pantry.

I bought a chalkboard Uppercase Living decal recently and when it came, it was huge. I wasn't thinking when I ordered it and should have measured it first, so last night just as I was sitting down to email the demonstrator saying I wanted to return it, an idea came to me. Ever since I saw all of these different bloggers make a chalkboard for themselves, I have been thinking about how I wanted to implement that into my house also. (See Leslie's here, Holly's here, and Jessica's here.) However, my kitchen layout is a little different and there isn't a lot of wall space for that. I decided to cut the decal in half and then size it to the molding on the cupboard on on the pantry... genius, right? Long story short, here it is:



The best part? For my non-committing type personality, anytime I get sick of it being there, I can just peel it right off. For now, maybe this will help me be a little more organized when it comes to meals. And maybe, just maybe, it will cut down on the multiple times my husband says weekly "we don't have anything to eat!" Nahhh... probably not.

The other half of the decal is now in our office. And maybe this one will help us be more organized with our busy and not-so-great-at-communicating-to-each-other lives. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

You know you're a {new} mom when...

- you carry socks, quiet toys, baby snacks, and pacifiers in your otherwise fashionable Coach bag

- you regularly discuss baby bowel habits, nursing tendencies, and things previously considered taboo (previously: prior to giving birth) as though you are discussing the weather outside

- your wardrobe is severly lacking because 1) you haven't returned to pre baby weight and 2) it's just more fun to dress up your baby than yourself!

- your parents no longer call or stop by for you, but for their precious grandchild

- you've seen more bodily fluids in mere months than you have in your entire life, and you don't even think twice about it!

- you tell your husband "No No" when he wants to play with the television remote or make a phone call

- you make extensive notes on how to care for your child, and proceed to check on child via neurotic emails and phone calls multiple times a day

- you can't remember the last time you slept through the night

- you have more of an intimate relationship with your breast pump than with your husband

- if you're up past 10:00, you comment about how incredibly late it is.

But best of all, you know you're a mom when you understand just how precious the innocence of a child is, the true meaning of love at first sight, and the definition of unconditional love.

I may wear my hair and makeup a little more sloppy, eat by the handful from the pantry as I stroll by, spend my nights performing a circus act in order to keep Jaxon laughing, let my obsessive tendancies slack a bit, but truthfully I have never felt more fulfilled in my life.























{note to self: start taking more pics of jax and i together! sadly these are the only pics i have with him, because i'm always the one behind the camera!}

A reminder to myself.

As much "me" time as I often say I want or need, I highly doubt years from now I will look back on this time and wish I would have had more "me" time or more "leave me alone, i deserve to have more sleep" time. Instead, I can almost guarantee that I will look back and wish I would have had more time on the floor playing with my baby, acting like a fool to get him to laugh, reading and singing and dancing... more of anything that would give me more time and more memories with my boy. I need to continually remind myself of that, especially in the {many} moments that it is so easy to be selfish and think I deserve more "me" time.
It's no longer about me, and I'm totally fine with that.