Gymnastics! Trampoline! Stamps!

It's Tuesday!  In our house this means it is gymnastics night!  Oh boy does my little girl LOVE gymnastics!!

 Last year I took Hadley to an open gym at our gymnastics place and she absolutely loved it.  I looked into classes and called to sign her up thinking we could start whenever.  Boy was I wrong.  You guys there was a waiting list!! For gymnastics class for a child who wasn't even two.   Not only was there a waiting list, it took 6 months for us to get a call that she got an open spot!  I was so shocked.  Of course the call came the week we found out that we would be having Brynlee three weeks early, which in itself was unexpected.  I couldn't turn the spot down though and be on a waiting list for another 6 months, so the first class I was 36 week pregnant and the next class we had a baby only a few days old.

If you tell Hadley she has gymnastics she will run around screaming "gymnastics!! trampoline!! stamps!!"  It is adorable! (They get stamps on their feet at the end of class and she is obsessed with them)

Cutest gymnast ever!  

I'll have to get some pictures in the actual class.  It is too adorable!

Last week we didn't have gymnastics because of Halloween.  We didn't dress Brynlee up since she is only 2 months old and we figured it'd be super cold.  Hadley was the cutest little monkey!  I figured she wouldn't like trick-or-treating because she isn't a huge fan of strangers and it takes her a bit to warm up and let her personality shine.  We practiced quite a bit and her grandparents even taught her to say "trick-or-treat smell my feet give me something good to eat!!" The first house she went to she cried when they went to the door.  The second house she did a bit better, but since she had her one piece of candy, she wanted to go home and she didn't want to go back out.  Ha! So she took a bite of her chocolate and then her an Zb handed out candy.

Brynlee and I stayed nice and cozy inside. :) 

xoxo,

amanda

Breakfast Burritos

Happy Monday!

I have a super busy week due to Parent-Teacher Conferences.  It will be extra exciting because it will be my first time meeting most of the parents since I was on maternity leave when the school year began!  I wanted something quick for breakfast to make our mornings run a bit smoother.  We usually make eggs in the morning which is great, but the clean up takes a lot of time.  My best friend Sam has been telling me about her breakfast burritos that she makes her hubby and I had to try them for myself!  On Sunday we usually make a bigger breakfast so I decided we would make the burritos and I would just make extra to freeze.  AMAZING!  And seriously SO easy.  This batch made enough for breakfast on Sunday, plus 15 burritos to freeze.  Win. Win.



Watching Hadley crack eggs might be one of my favorite things.  It is so funny!





Mommy's little helper! Don't mind my no make up look and our glorious bed head. ;)







My burrito wrapping skills are lacking, but we got the job done!

Okay so here is what I used this time, but the best part about this is that you can totally make it your own and change it up each time you do it for a bit of a variety.

18 eggs
1 bag of hash browns ( I used diced up hash browns)
2 bell peppers
1 pckg of sausage links (because they didn't have ground sausage)
tortilla shells

1. scramble the eggs.
2. cook the hash browns
3. cook the sausage
4. dice up the peppers and throw them in with the hash browns
5. cut up the sausage links and toss them in with the eggs
6. lay out a tortilla and put a scoop of hash browns and a scoop of eggs
7. top with a bit of cheese
8. fold and wrap in tin foil
9. put in a freezer bag and freeze!

This morning I took two out and put then in the microwave for 2 minutes, cut them in half and put them in for an additional two minutes.  DELICIOUS!  and best of all, clean up was a breeze.

Next time I make them I want to try to throw in some more veggies and I am going to try turkey bacon instead of sausage.  :)


On a completely different note - check out my BABES!  Brynlee is on the left and Hadley is on the right.  Both pictures were taken around 2 1/2 months.  I just love looking back at Hadley's pictures from when she was Brynlee's age.  Some pictures they could pass as twins and others I think they look completely different!



Melt my heart!!

Weekend Recap & Smoothie Recipe

I love weekends - especially now that I am back at work.   We had a productive weekend at the Breazeale home.  On Saturday ZB got a lot of much needed yard work done while the girls and I had a relaxing day.  On Sunday morning Zack's mom came over and watched the girls while we grabbed coffee and went to Target - KID FREE! ;)

We spend a lot of the day getting ready for the week.  Since both ZB and I work away from home, we have to be prepped for the week or it is complete chaos and super stressful.  Hadley loves to help me in the kitchen and to be completely honest, I love it too!  We have so much fun together.  Here are a few pictures..

Also check out the bottom of this post for my go to smoothie recipe!





Gahh! She is so cute! I just love this little girl. :) :)

Later that evening we painted pumpkins and ate apple crisp!




And then there's this cutie...



She is such a good baby!!

I have to share my smoothie recipe with you guys though - it is SO good!  I make one every morning and it's the best way to start the day.  I always feel better when I've had a smoothie before heading out the door and it helps me make better food choices throughout the day.



My smoothie tastes a bit different every day because I don't use specific measurements and I'll add different fruit to it depending what we have.  Here is what I (usually) use...

1 banana
3-4 cuties
about a cup of frozen fruit
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp flaxseed
handful (or two) of kale or spinach
1 large spoonful of plain yogurt
1 large spoonful of peanut butter
liquid - orange juice, milk, or water

I usually fill the blender up about halfway with liquid and then I blend it together and enjoy!  This fills 2 large glasses and a small toddler cup.

I get my frozen fruit from Costco.  They have huge bags of frozen fruit for a great price.  We switch it up so sometimes I put strawberries in smoothie, or times it's blueberries or some type of mixed fruit.  Either way, it tastes great!  I try to throw in as much greens as I can get away with in the smoothie and I've learned that I can get away with about 2 handfuls of it and you literally can't taste it at all!

This use to be super easy to whip together in the morning before work.  However, trying to get a toddler and two month old ready so we can be out the door by 7 has made it a bit more difficult.  So the night before when I am getting supper together I put about half of my smoothie together.  I will put the cuties, yogurt, peanut butter, chia seed, and flaxseed in the blender the night before and put it in the fridge.  In the morning I just have to add the banana, frozen fruit, and liquid.  SO EASY.  We have no excuse not to make it.  Plus, my 2 year old LOVES this.  She drinks from my cup in the morning and then drinks her entire cup as an afternoon snack at my sister's house.  She is starting to get picky about what veggies she eats, so I feel good knowing that she is getting a little bit from the smoothie.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

amanda

No Bake Energy Bites

Happy Saturday!

I told you that I am always looking for quick and easy meals and snacks.  My go to favorite snack is No Bake Energy Bites.  They are SO good!  Seriously better than candy.  Super quick to make and my whole family loves them.  I am nursing Brynlee and I am constantly hungry.  These are great because they have oatmeal in them which is good for lactation and they are super filling.  You HAVE to try these.



No Bake Energy Bites

Oatmeal (1 cup)
Chocolate Chips (1/2 cup)
Peanut Butter (1/2 cup)
Coconut Flakes (2/3 cup)
Honey (1/3 cup)
Flaxseed (1 tbsp)
Chia Seed (1 tbsp)
Vanilla (1 tsp)

Mix together and let sit in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes before rolling them into balls.  I scoop with a tablespoon to get the roundness and put 4 into a bag to make it easy to grab and go.

 I use natural peanut butter (from Costco or Whole Foods) to avoid all of the added sugar in "regular" peanut butter.

Zb and Hads love these so much that I always triple the batch and it lasts us all week.

xoxo,

amanda

My First Entry & A Little About Me

My first post!  This is a new adventure for me and I'm not exactly sure where it will take me.  But, I am going to give it a whirl.  I figured for my first post I would tell you about myself and give you an idea of what my posts will be.

My name is Amanda Breazeale and I live in good 'ole Nebraska (Go Huskers!)

I am a 5th grade teacher so you'll probably get some teaching posts here and there.  Mostly about me figuring out how to balance life and teaching. ;)

I am married to my wonderful husband, Zack.  We have been married for (almost) 4 years.

We have two beautiful daughters - Hadley (2 years) and Brynlee (2 months).  You'll probably get a lot of posts about these two.  They are my everything!



We also have a dog, Khloe.  She is a Beapso (Beagle and Lhasa apso mix).   She has the most annoying bark, but she is so so so good with the girls.  I adore her.



I enjoy (the idea of) working out.  I have ran 1 marathon and multiple 1/2 marathons.  I highly doubt I'll ever run a full marathon again.  Maybe a half.  Currently I'm struggling to make it to the gym on a regular basis so I should probably start there before thinking about running 13.1 miles. #momlife

I don't enjoy cooking, but I enjoy my life running smoothly so I'm always on the lookout for delicious and easy meals and snacks that are healthy.  I'll share my finds!

Okay so I would like to post a few times a week.  I go back to work from maternity leave tomorrow so we'll see how this goes...

xoxo,

amanda