My first time trying a photoshoot

I posted a while back about trying my hand out at "real" photgraphy. I've been taking snapshots and editting and all that jazz for years, but never tried to actually take really great portraits (Landscapes are a different story.)
Well, I definitely caught the photography bug and went to Walmart yesterday and bought some fabric on clearance to use a backdrop. See how fancy I'm becoming? Using a backdrop. Wow.
Anyway, I've had this bug up my butt for a few weeks about doing some Valentines Day photo cards to send to friends and family of Buggy. I was going to use our professional portraits done by my fabulous friend Jamie, but thought that I might try my hand at taking some Valentines pictures myself. So today I tried my hand at it and dressed Buggy up in her Valentines outfit. My nephew Butt actually jumped in for a few cute shots too. He's such a little handsome dude. (Oh, and don't ask where the nickname Butt came from. None of us have any idea, we've just always called him that.)
These are the results. I think they actually turned out fairly nice. What do you think? I'd LOVE some constructive criticism!

Photo Shoot: FAIL

Apparently, she did not want to have her picture taken.

Smothered Steak with Mashed Potatoes

We made this super yummy dinner tonight. It was really easy so I thought I'd share.

What you'll need:
Eye of the Round Steak
Potatoes
Your choice of Vegetable
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Onion
Water
Butter
Mayonaise

Chop the onion into thin slices. In a frying pan, place the steak and onions and set stove to medium heat. Flip steaks every once in a while to brown sides evenly.

After the steaks are browned and the onions have taken on their clear color, spread 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup on top. Add 1 can of water to make the soup thinner and more gravy like.

Cut your heat back to low and cover pan. Let steaks and onion simmer.

While your steaks are simmering, scrub your potatoes and dice them.

Use a masher to mash them and add a few tablespoons of butter. Another thing I do is add a tablespoon of mayo to add a little zing to them.

Serve with your choice of vegetable. We chose Asparagus.

Mmmmmmm! Yummy!

Solids Saga: Part 3. Attack of the Carrots

The first solid food (other than the pre-requisite cereal) that we started Buggy on was carrots. We decided to start with those, because while I was pregnant, I had hyperemesis gravidarum and the only thing I could (usually) keep down was carrots. I ate those things like they were going out of style. Honestly. I used to carry little individual packs of baby carrots in my purse every where I went so if I started to get sick, I would cram a few of those in hopes of staving off any pukeyness. Didn't always work, but hey, I tried. When you have HG, you will try ANYTHING to stop the vomitting. *Bad memories* Side story, I actually found an old purse from the day I went into labor a few weeks back. It had a baggy of carrots still in it. Needless to say, that was unpleasant and that purse is no longer with us. Sad, really. I loved that purse.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, carrots.

So, we decided to use carrots, because hey, if I had consumed so many of them while she was in ma bellah, maybe she'd remember them and think, "Hey, these taste like Mommy!"

I didn't have a blender/food processor at the time to make my own baby food so we had to start with jar food, so we went with Gerber. I heated them up slightly and presented them as a gift to her. Buggy was super stoked. She chowed down. I mean CHOWED down. It was as if she actually remembered them. She loved them so much she basically bathed in them.

Bathed in them!

Over the course of several nights, we attempted to feed without making too much of a mess. It didn't work. She thoroughly enjoyed herself a bit too much to worry about actually keeping the carrots off of her. Thankfully, she doesn't have a skin allergy to them. I think we are safe to say that.

Carrot Love

"Mommy, these are the best thing since sliced bread! Wait, when can I have that?"

I'm pretty sure we've now learned that a bib does not contain the mess. After using up my arsenal of OxyClean (RIP Billy Mays) we started undressing her from the top down. At least she's washable and doesn't stain...too much.

Up next: Green Beans!

Baby Crack #4: My Pal Violet

Meet Violet, my new best friend. Buggy got her for Christmas from her Uncle J and Aunt T. We had no idea when she got it what a wonderful piece of baby crack it would end up becoming.

So heres the lowdown on Violet. She's the "sister" toy to the My Pal Scout toy by Leapfrog. Basically, she's the girly version of Scout. Each of her four paws control a certain activity or game. Her left bottom paw is the on/off switch, right bottom is sleepytime music, left upper is daytime music, and the right upper is games. You can hook the pup up to your computer through the included usb cable and are able to personalize it with their name, favorite food, favorite color and favorite animal. You can also choose the songs and music that is played. Honestly, the favorite food, animal and color are a little excessive for a 6 month old, but it will really come in handy as she gets older. Right now, we have it set to sweet potatoes, an owl and green. Oh, and they had holiday songs that you could put on there during the holiday season. I was thisclose to selecting a few of them for her, but seeing as it was on Christmas that she got it, decided to wait until next year and do them then.

Violet teaches how to spell your child's name through song as well as helps teach counting, animals, colors, routines. It's a really great fun teaching toy. I'm not advocating the use of toys and entertainment items to teach your child as I feel that that is something a parent should do, but honestly, if a toy can help back up what you teach your child, all the better in my opinion.

Buggy will freak out over her Violet. She gets all grinny and giggly and will hug her and kiss her. It's so cute. Plus I get a kick out of hearing Violet say Buggy's name and saying "I love you Buggy'srealname." Awww

Highly recommend Violet or her brother Scout.

Baby Crack #3: Jumperoo

Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo

Talk about a lifesaver! This wonderful piece of Baby Crack is just what a busy mommy needs. You can place baby in the jumperoo and they can just jump and bounce to their hearts content. If your little one is anything like my Buggy, they love bouncing. I mean, homegirl can go spastic when she bounces. Seriously, she will just go crazy. It's hysterical. She's like a little Mexican jumping bean on a hot day. Awesomeness ensues.

Basically, if you've never heard of or seen a jumperoo, it's a round base with rods sticking up that have springs attached to the rod and a suspended holster with activity center. You put your little one in it, like a regular exersaucer, and they use the floor to launch off of and jump and bounce until they are worn out. The little seat turns around in circles, so that your little baby can play in full 360 fun. It also makes some annoying awesome music and sound effects like monkeys chittering and elephants bleating.

Buggy absolutely loves her jumperoo and will jump for hours if we let her (which we don't.) We got ours from a consignment shop for $40 which was a fantastic deal. Check your local stores to see if they have one in stock. Remember to make sure its in good working order and not broken though!

Check out Buggy enjoying her playtime in the jumperoo!

*excuse the fan in the background. It was a hot day.*

Peachy Pineapple Dump Cake

You will need:
1 large can of crushed pineapple
3 cans of peaches
1 box of yellow cake mix
1-2 sticks of butter

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the crushed pineapple evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 in baking dish. Drain the peaches and spread them out onto the pineapple. Cover the fruit with the dry cake mix. Slice the butter into small squares and evenly space it in rows on top of the cake mix. Bake in oven for 1 hour, or until crust is browned.

Can be served with ice cream.

You can also substitute fresh fruits as well. I haven't tried it with fresh fruit though. Also, you can use any kind of fruit your little heart desires.

Absolutely delicious!

Ooey, gooey yumminess!

Would you like to see more recipes? What type of recipes would you like? Desserts, Entrees, Appetizers? Let me know in the comments section!