New Year!

Hi all (I don't think anybody is reading though, ha). I've been busy working and trying to make more meals at home from scratch, less preservatives and ingredients and taste so much better. My boys are growing like weeds, my Lil E turned 2 in December, I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday, it was a very scary time in our lives. He is still tiny though, weighs 24 pounds and is 32 1/2 inches tall. He is starting to say so many more words, but I know it's not at that level that he should be, but he sure does try his little heart out. He is also our little dare devil, he stands on things and leaps off of them, scares the beejuzus out of me, but I let him because boys will boys and he will get hurt. He has his good days and bad days with eating. Sometimes he'll eat his 3 meals and snacks and other days he'll barely eat any Cheerios. Nestle's Carnation Instant Breakfast has been our friend lately and when he doesn't want to eat, we just whip him up a glass and know that he is getting some kind of nutrients and vitamins. He has surprised us recently though by eating a whole In n Out cheeseburger (only fast food we eat) and then the other night eating 2 ribs, leaving the only just a clean bone. I love this little booger so much. I'll be participating in this years March of Dimes walk in April in honor of my Lil E. Little brother V is 9 1/2 months old now. This child is on the fast track, he has been crawling since he was 6 months and 2 weeks after that he was pulling himself to stand up. He is a champion couch surfer but for the past few weeks has been letting go and standing unassisted for a significant amount of time. He has also taken a step here and there, but never more than one, although I'm sure he wishes he could run already. V also got his first 2 teeth at Christmas time (just like big brother did the year prior). Unfortunately he bit twice and I told him No, he can't bite Mama and he got upset. Ever since then he has refused to breastfeed. I was worried about him getting teeth too, that I was hoping he would get them after he turned 1 like Lil E but no such luck. I'm still pumping, but I'm not getting nearly as much milk as I was when he was still nursing. I know that my days of breastfeeding altogether and are slowly coming to an end. He'll be 1 in just 2 1/2 months so it just came a few months earlier than anticipated, and I guess it makes it a little easier that he self weaned instead of having to deal with that later. SD has been doing alright. Some big things happened at her momma's house but she couldn't speak of it, but did say it wasn't good. Oh well, we all know what that's like in a relationship, we all have our ups and downs. School has been a real struggle for her, but she is trying her hardest. The school Winter Formal is coming up here in a few days and she was asked by a good friend of hers at school. He's a nice boy and I think he likes her, but according to her, she doesn't see him like that. Either she really doesn't or she does not want to admit to us that she does. I've been frequenting a lot of food blogs recently and have gotten many great recipes from them. I've perfected making my own dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls and pizza dough (yeast is my friend now, it wasn't at first). So we make our own pizzas. I've been trying to do some freezer cooking but that's been a little difficult for me. And with my beloved crockpot broken it's make cooking even tougher for me but I've been managing. Last night I made these amazing Lemon Sugar Cookies courtesy of Two Peas & Their Pod . Link to their recipe is below as well. I made the recipe exactly as hers describes it. It's not to much of a lemon flavor, but just enough to know that it's a lemon cookie and perfect balance with the sugar. http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/lemon-sugar-cookies/