Mondays Maid Simple

I would just like to say that both kiddos are napping at the same time and I am beyond thrilled, with that being said I only have about fifteen minutes until I need to feed the little man so I will make todays tip short and sweet.

Since not having much time on my hands in the morning anymore I have come up with the best solution in helping achieve "good hair" for the day. I have barely enough time to slap on make-up let alone run a brush through my hair these days. I know you're all thinking who cares, why do you need to get ready anyway? Well things come up and there are constantly people stopping by and if I need to run out, which always happens I don't want to look like a crack head mom in mix matched pajama pieces and 2 day old mascara. (this has already happened to me and I refuse to let it happen again) which is why I am offering you todays tip to make your own or just appreciate it for what it is. Slightly ghetto. 

I have help at night because Micah is home so I can actually shower and whatnot. Now on most evenings when I actually get a shower in and can blow dry my hair I will set my hot curlers on. After drying my hair I let those set in my hair for 20 minutes while I do whatever (normally feeding Vernon) and then immediately after removing the curlers I part my hair and twirl each section around to create a bun. I pin those and leave them like that for the night. When morning rolls around and I have to get ready I undo those bad boys and run a wide tooth comb through my hair, and wallah, wavy, messy, curly hair!

I know, worst picture to show the hair but it is literally the only one I have of me in the past couple of weeks. It's not fantastic hair but it helps me feel that I'm looking semi-decent and can face the world.

Hope you all have a fab week! 

p.s~ it's good to be back!

Cross Country Cookin': Orzo Stuffed Peppers

So this week I'm giving a little shout out to my girl Bianca who made our family Orzo Stuffed Peppers! Amazingly good! I must admit, Bianca has never let me down when it comes to food. We share a food affair together, well basically I have a food affair with everyone, it's kind of a requirement of being my friend. Anyway, she said she got the recipe from Giada on the Food Network but we will just say it's her recipe since she added turkey meat to the batch she prepared for us.

ORZO STUFFED PEPPERS

• 1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes
• 2 zucchini, grated
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 6 sweet bell peppers (red or yellow)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and break apart using a pair of kitchen shears or your finger tips. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepanover high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.

Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully transfer the orzo stuffed pepper to a serving plate.

 Bianca and I at Vernon's shower doting on her little princess Olive.

Side Note: This was so tasty that I have made the decision to grow every color of pepper in my garden to  insure I can make this goodness at least once a week!

Oh and yes the planning and layouts for my garden have begun. I'm kind of freaking out with excitement over the whole thing. More post on that to come.

Until then, enjoy this recipe!

What's the haps yo?

So what's been happening in my neck of the woods besides my Pearl turning 2 and Vernon gaining a whopping three pounds his first month! Oh lots of things actually. Jammie & Papa (Micah's folks) came to visit, or help out really. They have been awesome loving on Elsie and giving me mommie breaks as needed. My little brother Greg flew into town and will be here a couple of weeks. My older brother turned 30 this week (weird) We survived our first event at the house in celebration of Elsie's birthday, Vernon's arrival and our new home. We got some new furniture. Found out there is an awesome Farmer's market down the street. Oh and I finally feel normal again. I am still tired and don't quite have everything together but I feel like myself. I'm loving this new chapter in our lives (except for the new Elsie meltdowns) and I'm excited to get to know my little Vernon more. He is so sweet. He grunts like crazy while sleeping and awake. He looks longingly at you with the sweetest eyes of blue and when not grunting has the sweetest little coos I've ever heard. He.Is.Precious!

 this is what Elsie chose to wear out for her birthday breakfast

She can't hold up two fingers on one hand to represent she is two so she uses one from each hand

 of course Minnie joined 

 Jace & Jan meeting their Grandson 

my parents got her a radio flyer tricycle!

 we opened her gifts the next day. and even though it was raining she insisted on wearing the new hello kitty swimsuit from Aunt Nat while opening the remainder of the gifts.Such a California girl

 Uncle Greggy meeting Vernon

 Vernon's month appointment, weighed 9 1/2 lbs. Woot-woot!

 train ride at the park

This was a video we created for the party but never got around to showing it. Enjoy!


Now with all of our guests gone and I'm settling into my new routine, I think we might just stay in our pj's all day and listen to the rain while eating lots of fatty treats.
Hope you all have a fab weekend!

A very merry un-birthday to Vernon

Happy St.Patty's day all! We love this holiday around here. The smell of corned beef and cabbage brewing away, while Dropkick Murphy's plays through the speakers will make even the most hectic day better, can I get an Amen!
This will be the first in six years that we wouldn't be hosting our St.Patrick's Day Bash. We were totally bummed but knew if we tried we'd have too much on our plate. Just trying to get everything to make the meal for us four seemed quite an ordeal. I wasn't going to let not having our annual party or sleep deprivation get me down. Besides this was Vernon's actual due date so Elsie and I made him a un-birthday cake. Unfortunately, due to lack of ingredients and time I had to use a boxed cake and Betty Crocker icing, which in turn resulted in the cake looking like this...

I had half a mind to send this into cake wrecks myself but couldn't think of something clever to write on it.
Regardless of how the cake looked it tasted scrumptious! And though it was just our little family we all adorned ourselves in green garb, and feasted on the traditional St. Patty's meal. Micah brought home St.Patty's hats and a beautiful bouquet for me to kick of the festivities.

Irish Blessing: 

May your troubles be less

And your Blessing be more 

And nothing but happiness 

come through your door

Love,
The Ensors

Mondays Maid Simple

You don't need to worry, I am fully aware that it is Wednesday and not Monday but since my Mondays have been anything but simple this is what you get, a post on Wednesday that doesn't really involve a tip for you but what took place for me on Monday. So here you have it. I promise a real tip next week.

My Monday was actually made a lot simpler because Nat or as Elsie says, "Nat Nat"(for Aunt Nat) took the day off of work and came and hung with us Ensors. She has a Disneyland pass as well and since Micah's just expired and Elsie has asked everyday since Vernon has arrived to go, we made the trip. Knowing I had her there to help made me feel comfortable venturing out with both kiddos on such an undertaking. I just carried Vernon in my Maya Wrap and Nat had Elsie in the stroller or in her arms. It was such a nice break from our day to day routine er..not so much routine but day to day chaos that I could see a definite change in Elsie. She was so sweet to Vernon all day and wanted him to go on all the rides. She went as far as to ask to kiss him before her nap, I couldn't believe it! 

Apparently I needed this outing as much as Elsie if not more because my spirits felt lifted and I have been going strong ever since. Thanks Nat Nat for the extra love this week. We love you!

Vernon is pictured, just inside my wrap.

 Here are a few pics of the little man. He is changing so much already!

Cross Country Cookin

Hi, I'm alive. I know I have been a total slacker but I am in survival mode here people. I'm am just trying to get through each day. I will post more on motherhood in another post but wanted to try and make up for not keeping up with my regular weekly goodness.
In lieu of not exchanging recipes with the sis I have decided I will post recipes of meals that have been prepared for our family during these past couple of weeks.
The first recipe is for a breakfast casserole our friend Sam made us. It was anything but breakfast. Super hearty and because of the italian sausage in it we had it for dinner and lunch and killed this dish in two days flat! Super Yummy! Check her blog here for the recipe.

 This was the finished product!

We are so grateful to her and all those who have prepared meals for us. Fast food will never compare to a home cooked meal and we love you all for your generosity. Plus I'm so over Del Taco. Don't judge me, it's down the street and the easiest thing to get to.

one day at a time...

I did it. I made it through my first day as a momma of two without Micah. The dreaded day fell upon me without warning and I was so overwhelmed yesterday with the idea of managing these two little beings on my own and about lost it. I mean Micah had left a few times and did a half day here and there at work since we had Vernon but today was my first official full day. I even ventured out to Target with both of them to get necessary items. It's not that this is an impossible task, I mean women do this all the time, no biggy I get it. It's just that between Elsie not understanding her new world, our new house not being put away and me being a hormonal wreck I felt it insurmountable for me to go it alone. Micah had basically taken over with Elsie and she grew comfortable with not needing me, I was just really nervous on how today would go because of that. I'm happy to report there were, no meltdowns, screaming or time outs and as far as the kids go, they were great.
This has been harder for me than expected and that's because this wasn't expected. I wasn't expecting Vernon a month early. I wasn't expecting to be living out of boxes this long. I wasn't expecting Elsie to have such a hard time with a new baby in the picture. I definitely wasn't expecting all the emotions that have come with this postpartum that I didn't experience with Elsie's. This is just, well, a lot harder than I thought. That is hard for me to admit because I like to think I have it all together and can handle, ummm everything but I am not handling all this newness very well.
All that being said I am extremely happy. I love my little man, he is so precious! I love my new home, though a wreck, feels like home. I love Elsie wanting to sit with me, cuddle with me, play pretend Tea Time with me, even at those moments when it breaks my heart that I can't because of nursing. I love Micah more than ever because he is so supportive, such a good daddy, and has made me laugh through all the tears these past two weeks.
TWO WEEKS! Can you believe it? Vernon is already two weeks old. Where did the time go? I feel like I just had him yesterday. I really just need to get into my groove and figure out my own schedule with the two kiddos vs. one. And once that happens I know I will feel less like this person and more like the old Nat. Plus I will be able to get back on my blog schedule, which I would apologize for not blogging but feel I have a free pass considering my circumstance. Ha-Ha!
Until then, here are a few pics to enjoy.

                            She is getting better but this basically sums up the first week 

We wanted to do something for Elsie to make her feel special so Saturday night Micah had a great idea after her nap to all get in our pajamas, order Chinese Food and watch for the first time Toy Story 3. We got her candy and made sure to have special snacks. She absolutely loved it and actually watched the whole thing with us! We will make this a monthly tradition.

I just realized I need to start taking way more pictures! Yikes.