Positively Scrumptious Blueberry Muffins

Ingrediants:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tbl baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg lightly beaten

1/4 vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl mix in all dry ingredients. Then mix the oil and egg into... the lemon and milk mixture. Then mix the wet mixture into the dry mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Fill cupcake papers 2/3rds full and bake about 20 minutes or until golden at 400 degrees!

Makes 12 muffins. I usually double the recipe because we love them!

January where have you gone?

It seems like time is going by so fast. I blinked and Lily is a toddler. She's running all around the house, laughing playing and saying  things and it absolutely blows my mind. I'm so overwhelmed with pride and yet so terrified! I can't believe how fast it goes. I cant believe how much more I love her every single day. In all honesty I don't think you ever truly understand until you have a child. I kind of thought I knew, and kind of had an idea of how much I'd love her, but I know now that I didn't have a clue. She is so absolutely amazing!!

When I found out I was pregnant I was 19 and terrified. I had gone to the tanning bed that day and for one reason or another had this strange thought. "What if I'm pregnant right now and I'm frying my baby?" There was no way I could be pregnant (I thought) but still the feeling was strong enough that I turned off the bed and got out. I went to my best friend Sashas house that evening. We were supposed to be having a wine night and I told her what happened. I was laughing at how dumb I was, but she said "We need to get you a pregnancy test." I laughed it off and said "There's no way I'm pregnant. I would kill myself" and she said "Well you're having these weird feelings and you're a couple days late, lets just get one to be sure." As we were driving to the shopette on base to pick up a test I again said "There is absolutely no way I'm pregnant, but lets just get this over with so I can stop thinking about it." She then said to me: "You realize that if you are pregnant you're always going to remember this moment.. riding to the store with me and saying theres no way you could be, right?" Again, I laughed it off. Fastforward 20 minutes: I'm in her bathroom with her. The SECOND I did the test it turned positive. I was in SHAMBLES. We went to buy 3 more tests, all of which I took, and all of which were positive. I still couldnt accept it. I dont think I fully believed it until the next day when I went to the doctor and got a blood test and they called me that afternoon to tell me it was positive. I was SO scared. I was married , we had a nice home, a decent car, Josh had a good job, we had great health insurance, but I was TERRIFIED, not that we wouldn't be able to do it. I knew we could do it. I never worried the baby wouldn't have everything he or she needed, I just worried my life was over. Am I ever going to finish college? Am I ever  going to be able to go out and party again? Is this it? Am I just going to be some sad young mother with no life and no prospects cleaning dirty diapers and going to the grocery store with fruitloops in her hair?

I feel like probably every one has that feeling. At least anyone who has babies at my age. The fact is, I am 21 years old and I have a 1 year old daughter. The fact is, I do clean up dirty diapers all day, and I wouldn't be surprised at ALL if someone saw me in the grocery store with a fruit loop in my hair. I am starting back school this coming fall, but don't plan on working for now. I guess someone who didn't know me very well could look at me as a sad young mother with no life and no prospects, but I dont feel that way at all. I am deliriously happy every day that I get to get out of bed and feed my daughter breakfast, and play with her, and watch movies with her, and go on walks with her. I can't wait to get to teach her new things, and watch her learn. And I can honestly say a year after her birth that I would not trade ten college degrees and a successful 'career' for Lily Claire. She IS my life. She IS what I was missing. She is my whole world and my whole reason for living. I look back on all of our logical reasons for not wanting kids so early and think: "If I had waited 4 years (or however long) I wouldn't have Lily. I'd have another baby, but she wouldn't be Lily." I hear moms talk about missing their babies first steps because they happened when they were at work and their children were in daycare and my heart breaks for them. I am so blessed. We are SO blessed. It would CRUSH me if I had to miss all this to work. I am SO happy I get to stay home with her right now. I am SO happy I GET to change her diapers, and teach her to clap when I sing "if you're happy and you know it." I have the rest of my life to do whatever I want with it. It's all still in front of me, but she's not going to be this little for much longer and I wouldn't trade this time with her for anything. Planned or not, perfect or not, 'right timing' or not: I wouldn't change a single thing. This little girl has me SO in love.

It's BEEN AWHILE

SO, Lily's 1st birthday, Christmas, and New Years have come and gone, and I have not been blogging! We are back home in California. Leaving was heartbreaking yet again. Its never easy leaving home.

Lily's birthday was inCREDIBLE! Everything came together beautifully. I was a little worried there at the end but I managed to pull it together with the help of my Mom, Lauren, and Amanda. I will post a few of the pictures.

Lily's smash cake

This was the only thing I doubted myself on, but I think it turned out cute!

Her Royal Highness the Queen of Hearts! (:

Lily with a couple of her card minions

Smash cake

Smash cake

The food table!

As you can see, everything came together great! We were blessed to have tons of family and friends and had an awesome day! I will try to put up Christmas pics later!

Happy Anniversary to me! (:

              So today is our 3rd anniversary! 3 years married and 5 years together. Wow time flies. This evening we had an errand to run before heading back to Columbus tomorrow, and afterwards decided it was as good a time as any to stop at the beach. So we did. Lily got to see the beach for the first time! We held her hands as she stood up with her feet in the sand, just close enough for the waves to wash over them. She loved it. She was chatting and giggling and SO tickled with all of it. It was the best anniversary gift I could have asked for, and now I get to always remember, Lily's first time at the beach was our 3rd wedding anniversary. (: 

             In other news: I am losing my mind in this hotel room for several reasons. The most stressful of course is the lack of space. Which makes everything seem so much messier than it probably is. We also have a TON of stuff in this tiny area, and that adds to the clutter. LILY is not helping with that either. She is going through a phase where her favorite hobby is destroying otherwise neat and orderly areas. Opening drawers, and pulling out clothing one by one. Opening diaper bags, and pulling out and scattering each item. She does the same with toys, books, anything. Its going to be such a relief to get out of here tomorrow and head to Gramma's for a relaxing Thanksgiving. Wait what am I saying? Thanksgiving is only relaxing for men and children. Ah how I long for the days when nothing was expected of me on thanksgiving but eating and visiting... This next few days will be pretty hectic, so I doubt I will get a chance to post, but Happy Thanksgiving!

Lily 11 months

Every baby needs a messy 'sghetti' picture, right?

Lily's Birthday is less than a month away!

Well, Lily Claire is going to be ONE next month. That is simply unfathomable to me. I cannot even handle that it's already been a year. Its going by so fast it's breaking my heart. As someone who doesnt work and has been blessed to be able to be home with my daughter since day one, I didnt expect it to go by this fast. That old saying about not blinking or you'll miss it comes to mind. If I could rewind and do this year all over again, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I wish she could be a baby forever. She's been teething and waking up nights lately, and last night I got up with her around 3 and as I was rocking her back to sleep it suddenly occurred to me that pretty soon she was going to be too big to rock to sleep, and I sobbed for half an hour. Im sure if Josh had woken up and seen me he'd have thought I was crazy, but I couldnt help it!
Anywho I am planning her birthday part for December 18th, and it is going to be Queen of Hearts themed! Thats right, our little stinker is going to be the queen, and I am SOO excited about it. While, internally I'm sure I will be having a mini breakdown that my baby is a year old, Im hoping to distract myself with a great party! I have been recreating this costume for Lily to wear:

I also got her some black and white leggings to go under it, and a longsleeved red shirt so the tulle wont itch. Im also going to attempt to make this crown:

Although, to be honest I'm sure it will be a waste of time, considering our little nugget throws an absolute FIT if ANYthing is on her head- hats, headbands, bows- you name it. We will try to get a picture of her in complete attire. (:
Now does anyone remember the famous 'painting the roses red' song from the original Alice in Wonderland? Lily's fabulous uncle's have agreed to dress up as her 'card minions' for her, and I've even gotten white silk roses, I plan on splattering red paint on and making centerpieces out of.

I have a lot of ideas for decorations, and have been trying to make some from this tiny hotel room. Anyway, Im SOOO excited about her party, and wanted to put up a little preview!

About us

As I'm assuming most who read this will know, I'm Jessica, and my husband Josh is in the Air Force. We have been stationed at Edwards afb (our first duty base) for about 3 years and are from Columbus, Mississippi. We miss it terribly, but have been blessed to be able to come home a lot this year. We had a beautiful daughter Lily Claire on December 21, 2009 and 2 weeks later Josh was deployed to Qatar. We got to come home to MS for his deployment through May, and be around family and friends while he was gone. We are currently back in MS while he is TDY at keesler for a training class for his job. We are getting to be here through Christmas and are SO excited to get to spend the holidays with everyone again. We have been driving home (4 hrs from Biloxi) on weekends and staying with Josh in an extended living hotel during the week (That part sucks) So that explains all of that.
I am loving getting to be around all of our family and friends during the holidays, but hating living out of a hotel! We have a 2 burner stove, a microwave with a plate that DOESNT rotate (who came up with that brilliant idea?) and mini fridge. Its not much- but its home till Christmas. I am trying to count my blessings though and constantly counting the days till the weekend! We go home this Wednesday for Thanksgiving and the weekend. We will be doing thanksgiving dinner for lunch at Gramma's and then Thanksgiving for dinner at Josh's Nana's in Mayben. Im making an apple pie for each, and Gramma's famous deviled eggs for both as well. Im also considering making a really great recipe for spinach and italian sausage stuffed mushrooms I've done a few times for parties, but not sure how full my hands are going to be Thanksgiving day.