Our First Scare

It's inevitable that we have to experience the sadness of a sick child, and fortunately we had 8 great months before it happened. I took Monday off from work to have a play day with my sweet boy and noticed that his usual smiles and giggles were replaced with tired eyes and crankiness. After his fever escalated to 103 we rushed him to the ER in the middle of the night only to find that he had Strep Throat and a virus...YUCK! Thankfully, he is on the mend and we've even gotten a few smiles today! Can't wait till this little guy is back to his normal spunky self!

In other news...Brock took his first steps on Saturday! Vince and I came home from AdvoCare Success School to witness Brocky tackling another baby milestone! Have a great Wednesday everyone! XOXO

Friday Finds | 2/8

Hello Lovelies! Another work week has come and gone already...woohoo! Today I wanted to share some of the things we've been buzzing about at the Chase house. Hoping to make our "Friday Finds" a weekly posting. Enjoy!

Nate's Seafood - Our favorite cajun/seafood joint in Addison. We're excited to take our cousins Toni & Michael there tonight for a double date (with Brocky)! Who's ready for some crawfish?!?!?

Indoor Safari Park - I just heard of this place thanks to good ole Groupon! We're taking Brocky there next Friday for a family fun day. $4.99 for kids under 1 and $1 for accompanying adult...super fun and easy on the budget!

The Serengeti Resort - We're considering making this our next vacation location! How fun would it be to stay in one of the Outfitter tents? Pretty sure it would be a vacation to remember!

Baby Trend Trenz Fast Back 3-in-1 Car Seat - Brocky has officially outgrown his infant car seat and is moving into a big boy seat! I love the Baby Trend infant seat and jogging stroller so it was the only brand I considered when purchasing a new car seat. Plus, the 3-in-1 model will last until he's 4! We can't wait to try this bad boy out tonight!

On a side note, Brockster has been standing on his own so much lately. He'll walk if we're holding his hand, but hasn't gotten the courage to take a step on his own. I still can't believe this precious boy is 8 months!

 

 

ON THE MENU...

Hello, friends! As we get settled in to the new year, we've made a few changes here at the Chase house. We passionately believe that 2013 is the year we'll reach our goals both personally and professionally. Vince and I have been working hard to transform our physiques and our bank accounts! We're happy to report that in addition to working out everyday (thanks to the AWESOME Can you 24 DVD from AdvoCare), we've manage to only eat out once this month! This is a huge victory for us! I am definitely not known for expertise in the kitchen and our crazy schedules don't give us a lot of time to spend cooking, but we've managed to stick to it and make it work.

With that being said, we're testing out a new system this week. After a trip to Kroger and Sam's Club this weekend I managed to bring home {hopefully} three weeks worth of food. A little menu planning and some preparation/freezing has led to a successful start that we hope to continue! It's more than obvious that the more we go to the store, the more we spend...have you ever left with just what you went in for? If you have, you have way more self control than me...ha! Here's our menu plan for the week...please don't judge, I am not a cook, but am hoping to change that!

 

Sunday : Crockpot Potato Soup

Monday : Leftovers :)

Tuesday : Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Turkey Meat Sauce & Salad

Wednesday : Salmon Patties, Pinto Beans & Salad

Thursday : Pork Chops, Baked Beans & Salad

Friday : Taco Salad

Saturday : Left Overs

 

 

So, there it is! We're 3 days in and so far so good! What are your budgeting/meal planning tips? I'd love to hear some new ideas! XOXO, Bri

A Chase Christmas + A Happy New Year

I know I'm a couple of weeks late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR! This year is off to a crazy, hectic & wonderful start, and a recap of Brock's first Christmas & New Years is long overdue! So, here it is...a simple rundown of our 1st holiday season with the little man!

 

Brocky woke up Christmas morning to a new friend with a very special message from Santa! He loved playing with his "vintage" blocks, train and sock monkey before heading to Mimi Gene's house for a Mexican lunch with Mommy's side of the family.

We loaded up our little SUV and headed to Irving to spend Christmas evening at Uncle Bobby & Aunt Ginny's house! A yummy Italian dinner and a room full of presents made for an exciting evening! Brock got a little fussy being off his sleeping schedule, but still had fun playing with his sweet cousins.

After the hustle + bustle of Christmas, we were pretty excited to have a simple New Years at home. Brock got a new pair of Batman PJs and we were all in bed by 9pm! Props to everyone who managed to ring in the new year at midnight...we started 2013 catching up on some much needed rest!

XOXO, Bri

 

 

Hello.

Hello, sweet friends! We hope you all had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS with your friends + family! We're still recovering from the hustle + bustle of the holidays and I hope to have a post full of wonderful pictures and stories up by this weekend. Until then I'll leave you with a picture of my sweet boy playing with one of his Christmas presents taken with my new Nikon! (Yes, this means much higher quality photos will be appearing on the blog!) XOXO

 

 

A Lesson In Obedience

A few weeks ago I was excited to receive a happy little e-mail from CATHOLIC FAMILY GIFTS asking me to review one of their wonderful products. Even though Brock is just an infant, I love sharing our faith with him. He was recently Baptized and attends weekly Mass with us.

While browsing their website I saw a VeggieTales DVD telling the story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. I knew this was the perfect item to tryout on Brocky. He loves colors and cartoons and even though he's not old enough to understand the message, I knew he'd be a fan.

 We gave it a try on Saturday afternoon and just as I expected, Brocky was glued to the TV! He loved the characters and I loved the message they told. We are so pleased to have this in our movie collection and plan to watch it many more times! We think it's a wonderful way to introduce Bible stories to little ones!

If you're looking for sweet last minute gifts, be sure to check out everything CATHOLIC FAMILY GIFTS has to offer. They have a wonderful collection of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation gifts along with religious medals, Bibles and books. We look forward to giving a few of their items to our family this Christmas and hope you will too!

 

XOXO, Bri

 

 

 

 

A Very Happy 1/2 Birthday

Well, 6 months have come and gone since our little, BIG guy entered this world. It has been the most trying, exhausting and absolutely wonderful 1/2 a year I've ever had! We love this little one SO much!

 

Brock got a great report at his 6 month well visit with Dr. Mitchell. We're moving into stage 2 foods and sippy cups! Big guy measured in the 94th percentile height and 77th percentile weight. In addition to checking out himself in the mirror {just like Dad}, Brock loved ripping the paper on the table to shreds. He squealed with excitement...until he got shots! We're so thankful for our healthy, happy boy! XOXO