Recipe: Protein Bites

You guys! Before I say anything else, let me say this... YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE! NOW! See the ingredients above, just dump them all in a mixing bowl, mix them, and then refrigerate for 30 minutes. I actually doubled this recipe because I KNEW they were going to be good. I also used craisens instead of raisens because I loathe raisens. I was thinking chocolate chips or white chocolate chips would be a great additional mix in for next time, too!

So after you've put the mix in the fridge for 30 min, take it out and roll them in balls, however big or small you want them and lay them on wax paper.

That's ALL!!  Stick them in an air tight container and store them in the fridge.

 

My husband took these to work every day for a week and as soon as they were gone he had me make them again. I was surprised I liked them as much as I did because I'm not really a honey or a coconut fan but everything mixed together was just awesome! They may not be as healthy as carrot sticks, but this is definitely a healthy snacking option!

 

Try them!!

Snippets From Fresno

We are completely packed up, headed down for one last breakfast in our hotel, and then James and I are headed home. Sadly Derek has to work this weekend so he will not be joining us. James and I will be spending the weekend at our house doing laundry, re packing, and getting everything ready for his big birthday celebration in Los Angeles. I've got lots of presents to wrap! On Monday we are headed to stay with my parents for two weeks which I am so excited about. I can see all of my friends, go to Disneyland, and Derek's parents are flying into town from Seattle to spend James' birthday with us. Derek will join us next week in time for his birthday so it will be nice to celebrate for 4 whole days with everyone!

Since our time in Fresno has come to a close after three weeks, I thought I would share some photos that didn't make the cut for blog posts but are still gems. I really did have a good time up here. There was plenty of entertainment for us and it was pretty easy finding something to do each day. I'm really excited to head home though and even more excited to go see my family!

Little Mr out cold. I really wish I could sleep like that.

Derek came home from work one night and decided he wanted to go out to eat for dinner. I'm always all about take out because sitting down at a restaurant with James is just too much work. James went out in his dapper PJ's and... it was more work than play. Oh well.

This is how the Williams Family does up hotel living. We order pizza and eat on the bed. Even Sweet Lou.

James sliding like a boss.

I love the look of pure joy that James has when he's at the playground. He is definitely in his element.

I swear we went to every single playground in Fresno. And they have A LOT!

One of the playgrounds here had the cutest little snow cone truck and I couldn't resist buying one for James. I got the lightest flavor they had so I could avoid some mess and as you can see from the photo, James wasn't too sure about it. He had about 10 bites and the rest went into the trash. And on his clothes :(

 

My child is always ready to entertain the troops. He is quite the little comedian. If he thinks it will get a laugh, he'll try it. He is not above putting a trash can on his head to get a good laugh from the crowd. I love him for that.

At Home Manicures

Today I wanted to share a silly little post about at home manicures. Fact- I am OBSESSED with a perfect manicure. Seriously, as soon as one of my nails gets one tiny chip or has the slightest bit of growth, I re-do everything. I think I just admitted that I'm OCD. I used to get gel manicures and pedicures religiously at least every two weeks. I found a really good spot that was only charging me $30 for both, which, if you know anything about gel, you know that's a great price. The problem is that once I moved, all the places near me now charge an arm and a leg. Add that to the fact that my nails grow like WEEDS, and I was just over the whole thing.

Let's start by saying that I should not become a nail tech anytime soon. I'm no expert, that's for sure. But I've been giving myself (at least) weekly manicures for over a year now and I've learned a few things that I wanted to share with anyone who does their own nails or wants to save money and start!

First, I HIGHLY recommend picking up a bottle of this nail polish remover dip it. You can find it at Target and it's less than $3. My least favorite part of doing my own manicures and pedicures haS always been using stupid cotton balls and a bottle of remover. The process seems to take forever and it's messy. This dip it stuff works like a charm. Just stick your finger (or toe) inside and I swear your nail polish is off in a few seconds. No mess. Doing your toes is obviously harder but it can be done.

I probably shouldn't admit this, but it's the truth so I'm going to. I used to totally be one of those people who would sometimes just layer over old nail polish. Or I would do a really bad job of taking off the previous coat. It's really important that you take those extra steps in the beginning to acheive a professional looking manicure at home. I use my sons baby nail clippers (awesome right?) to trim my nails and then I use a cuticle cutter to push back my cuticles and give them a trim, too. It drives me nuts when my nails start to show growth so make sure you push those cuticles back as far as they can go before you start.

Here are a few of my recent nail jobs. I love doing glitter when I feel like being lazy for a week because even if you see growth or chipping, it's way harder to tell when you have a light color or glitter.

I used to be one of those people who would roll their eyes when I saw the nail polish bottles that cost $10 each. I'm much more one to hit the dollar section for nail polish. Boy was I wrong. I recently picked up my FIRST bottle of Essie Nail Polish and I am obsessed. I gave myself the best manicure of my life recently. IN MY CAR. James was sleeping in his car seat and I wanted him to finish up his nap so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to give myself a manicure. This Essie stuff goes on like BUTTA! It is so soft and silky, makes my nails feel amazing, no chipping, and all around compeltely worth the $10 I paid!

 

 

So bottom line is- Buy easy to use remover, get the supplies you need, and invest in a good bottle of nail polish! For less than $20 you will have all the supplies you need to achieve a professional looking manicure and pedicure at home. And you only have to pay that money ONCE.

 

 

Are you a nail polish freak like me? What's your go to color? (I ALWAYS do pink) Do you go out for manicures and pedicures or do them at home? Spill!

Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life For Me

Nothing makes me happier than having a full day with my baby boy. Recently James and I had a mommy baby date, and boy did we have fun. James got decked out in a pirate shirt and classy suspenders and off we went.

Our first stop was Chuck E Cheese where James played all the games, collected tickets and won prizes, and rode the carousel ten times. Next stop was to get balloons because James insisted. The only balloons CVS had were Hannah Montana, Congrats, or It's Twins. Because I didn't want to give anyone the wrong impression, we went with the first two. James could have cared less what the balloons had on them, as you can tell from his pleased face in the photos.

We got ice cream, hit Starbucks, and then spent the rest of the day at the park.

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting unplugged and being hands free so I'm striving to put my phone away more and get out of the house with my boy whenever we can. I am proud to say that I have been "hands free" for over two weeks now. (I check my phone only when James is sleeping). If you think you're on your phone too much like I did, I invite you to join me in the magic that is living in the moment!

Outfit details-

Shirt and jean short suspenders- Currently at H&M

Moccasins- Freshly Picked

The Sweetest Little Boy Who Ever Did Live

Although unrelated to the rest of this post, I have to start this off by sharing the amazing photo below. James took a THREE hour nap yesterday. He was totally zonked, on his belly, mouth open, slober, the works. Don't you wish you could sleep like that? I know I do. I think it's just about the sweetest photo I've ever taken of him and I will cherish it forever.

Oh, but then that sweet little angel baby wakes up in the morning with his bed head and all, and straight mean mugs his mother at breakfast. The truth behind this photo is that a stranger waved at him and James does not appreciate being waved at by strangers. Especially before he's had his morning sausage links. James and his sausage links are kind of like me and my morning cup of coffee. Don't look at us, don't talk to us, and for the love of all that is holy, don't wave at us. Or you may just get a face like this.

We've discovered that the old saying: "The early bird gets the worm." is true for playgrounds, too. The early bird gets the playground all to himself. It's nice for James to get those 30 minutes of alone time on the playground where he can run wild and do as he pleases. Then more kids come and he gets so exicted to play with them. We wake up, drive thru Starbucks, and hit the playground first thing. (Have you tried their new blueberry oatmeal? It's the bomb.)

James thinks the little fish down below is Nemo. Clearly you can see that it looks NOTHING like Nemo, but he still runs over to him, gives hugs and kisses and says in the sweetest voice- "ohhhhh nemo!" Melt my heart why don't you.

And here is James being the sweetest thing ever making friends with a butterfly. Look at that face!That's the face of a wild boy with a heart of PURE GOLD I tell ya.

 

 

This playground probably looks familar to you because I posted pictures of James here a couple weeks ago when we first arrived in Fresno. It's funny that we had never been before but since staying up here we've been to this exact playground about 10 times. James now knows every inch of the playground by heart and when we pull into the parking lot he knows exactly where he is. And now we'll probably never see it again in our lives. Funny how that happens. I'm glad that my little man gets to explore a thousand playgrounds all over California and make them his own, if only for a couple weeks at a time. James owns those playgrounds when he's there. And I love watching him and discovering them through his eyes.

 

 

Outfit details-

 

Shirt- Currently at H&M

Jeans- Shawn White for Target

Moccasins- Freshly Picked

Water Fountain Fun

James and I have hit up the Fresno Fashion Fair mall twice since we've been here and each time we passed by the water fountains I told myself I would take James back there so he could splash around and have some fun. Even though it's cooled off a bit, we headed back to Fashion Fair yesterday with a towel in hand to do some more shopping, and splashing.

 

Yesterday was a little bit of a rough day. I woke up exhausted because I stayed up most of the night being sad and homesick. Traveling to new cities can be all fun and games for awhile, but it's also really exhausting and it can be rough not ever seeing your own home and being far from your friends and family. I guess I got a little down on myself. The good news is that my husbands  next work location is back in Bakersfield so he will be able to commute each day and I can be home. Curing the blues called for a quick shopping fix at Anthropologie, the fountains and playground for James, and then drive thru Panera Bread for me and Sonic for James. Panera is my jam right now. I've been driving thru that dang Panera Bread every single night getting a bowl of healthy soup for dinner. I've already racked up enough points on my Panera card for free pasteries and coffee which I will be putting to good use very soon. After we picked up lunch it was back to the hotel and into our pajamas. Yes, I was in my pajamas at 1pm and I was okay with that.

 

I woke up feeling really good this morning, I have coffee in hand, and James and I are off to spend the day at the playground. I'm hoping I might be able to squeeze a nap in there, too.

 

 

 

Outfit details-

 

Fountains call for the most simple outfit you can find which in our case was a tank from American Apparel and velour pants from Zara Kids.

Storyland

Derek had the day off yesterday so we took James to Storyland here in Fresno. It's a little place where you can walk through different stories and nursery rhymes, complete with slides and toys and neat character displays that you can force your husband and child to pose in front of. Obviously the pirate ship was the biggest hit with James but riding the choo choo train was great fun, too.

And yes, my child does have more clothes than just this pirate skull sweatshirt but it just so happens it's the only sweatshirt I packed for our trip. Oops.