Dear Little Man,

For as long as I was pregnant with you, you  have been in our lives now. Nine months. Nine whole months.

Well, almost ten actually, but who’s counting?

At nine months you are on the move. You’ve figured out how to get around in your very own unique crawling style. With one leg tucked underneath, you manage to push and pull your way through the house, your eye on the object of your dreams. Often times that prize is the dog food bowls. Gross.

At nine months you are pulling up to standing and taking a few tentative, wobbly steps back and forth. I can see the determination in your eyes. I can see the motivation in your every movement. I can see that you will be off and running, causing all sorts of trouble, mostly aimed at getting your big brother’s toys.

I can just about hear, off in the distance, “Moooooom, the little man is touching my toys.”

Oh wait, I’ve already heard that. About 500 times today.

At nine months you have grown your very first tooth. Finally. All by itself, waiting patiently for it’s partner to pop up and join you.

At nine months you love cheese. You are obsessed with cheese. You could eat cheese all day, every day. That’s how I know you are my son.

At nine months you still look like your brother. You still look like your dad. But all I can see, is you. Wonderful you.

At nine months our family feels complete. We are nearing the end of the that first year, the hardest year. We are nearing the end of breastfeeding, which has been such a rewarding, challenging and wonderful experience. We are nearing the end of so very much. Of you being a baby.

And it breaks my heart.

But I know what we have in store for year two. For year three. I’m thrilled. Anxious. And above all, curious to see who you will develop into.

Love, Momma

This post is proudly linked up with Parenting BY Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, Better in Bulk, A Beautiful Mess, Live and Laugh…Out Loud, Life with Kaishon.

Nine Months is a post from: Alli 'n Son

I love roasted red peppers. Like obsessively love them.

I add them to just about every meal that I make. Salads. Pitas. Paninis. Pizzas. Greek nachos.

I love them so much that when they are on sale, I leave the store with 3-4 bottles.

These bottles, they last about 2 weeks. Then I mourn the fact that I didn’t buy more.

I’ve always heard that roasting red peppers is easy, but the recipes I came across always made it seem more complicated, more time consuming, more effort that it was worth. And so I never bothered.

That is, until I suddenly had an abondance of multicolored peppers lying around the house.

I can’t resist a good sale.

What exactly does one do with way too many red, orange and yellow peppers? Finally give in and make roasted red (and yellow) peppers.

All I can say, is that I don’t know what my problem was. These are easy. So, so easy.

Thanks to Ina Garten, I may never go without roasted red pepers again.

And that, makes me a very happy woman.

This post is proudly linked up to Mondays: Mouthwatering Mondays, Made By You Monday, Mingle Monday, The Girl Creative Tuesdays: Tuesdays and the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, It's a Blog Party, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On Wednesdays: Show and Tell, Works for Me Wednesday Thursdays: It's a Keeper Thursdays, Strut Your Stuff, Full Plate Thursdays, Chic & Crafty Party, Transformation Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday Fridays: I'm Loving It, Foodie Friday, Simply Designing, Show and Tell Friday Saturdays: Sweets for a Saturday, Positively Splendid, Saturday Nite Special Sundays: Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Sundae Scoop Party, The Sunday Showcase Party

Roasted Red Peppers is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Mom…can we make some muffins?

Yes, of course we can kiddo, I replied.

But inside, I was yelling yippee-he-wants-to-bake-with-me-he-never-wants-to-bake-with-me-unless-I-trick-him-into-it-yippee!!!!!!

I love to bake. Obviously. But the kiddo, not so much. Once I actually get him to help me, he gets into it. Scooping. Measuring. Stirring. But I often have to bribe, trick or beg him to help.

So when he actually asks to make something, I’ll drop everything to make it happen.

What kind of muffins should be make, kiddo?

Peanut butter and jelly, he replies. Obviously. This kid would live on all things PBJ if I let him.

Some weeks, I do just that, because it’s easier than coming up with something original for lunch.

The two of us sat at the computer, searching my favorite recipe sites, browsing through Pinterest and Googling. And there, waiting patiently for us to discvoer it, was the peanut butter and jelly muffin recipe that little boys’ dreams are made of.

Using my trusty Taylor digital measuring (I’m still madly in love with this thing) we measured, worked on our numbers, stirred, tasted and then stared at the oven until they were ready.

We’ve made these babies three times in two weeks. We’re basically living on the them.

We now eat so much peanut butter and jelly in this house that we are risk for actually turning into a PB&J sandwich.

I kid you not.

Sweet Tooth Friday

A few suggestions when joining in:

1. Link directly to your recipe {sweet-recipes only please}, not to the main page of your blog.
2. Please only link up recipes, not posts about recipes. 
3. Link back or include the Sweet Tooth Friday button {code is in the side bar}.
4. Visit 2 other blogs and leave comments. You just may make someone’s day.
5. Subscribe to my blog, follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook.

Code for the buttons is in the side bar.

This post is proudly linked up to Mondays: Mouthwatering Mondays, Made By You Monday, Mingle Monday, The Girl Creative Tuesdays: Tuesdays and the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, It's a Blog Party, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On Wednesdays: Show and Tell, Works for Me Wednesday Thursdays: It's a Keeper Thursdays, Strut Your Stuff, Full Plate Thursdays, Chic & Crafty Party, Transformation Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday Fridays: I'm Loving It, Foodie Friday, Simply Designing, Show and Tell Friday Saturdays: Sweets for a Saturday, Positively Splendid, Saturday Nite Special Sundays: Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Sundae Scoop Party, The Sunday Showcase Party

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Sometimes motherhood feels like a race. Running so fast. So far. With your head down. Missing the little moments. Ignoring the big picture.

Sometimes motherhood is about taking a deep breath and stopping. Building a fort on a rainy afternoon. Ignoring the ever present piles of laundry. The dirty dishes overtaking the sink.

Sometimes motherhood is about taking care of yourself. Filling your body with delicious food. Rejuvenating beverages. And soul-healing alone time.

Motherhood is always about change. Adjusting to fit the needs of the little people, while taking care not to lose yourself. It’s about learning the same lessons over and over again. Constantly striving for the perfect balance, only to discover that it doesn’t truly exist.

Motherhood is always about the challenge of loving our children, even when we aren’t happy with them. It’s about loving ourselves, even when we aren’t happy with who we are at the moment. It’s about loving our husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, significant others, as we work together to bring these kids up right.

It’s about constant movement, while doing our very best to stay in the fleeting moments that we sometimes want to run right past.

This post is proudly linked up with Parenting BY Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, Better in Bulk, A Beautiful Mess, Live and Laugh…Out Loud, Life with Kaishon.

Motherhood Is is a post from: Alli 'n Son

There are few things in life finer than the aroma of freshly baking bread.

It takes over your house.

It takes over your senses.

It takes over your life. At least, it takes over my life.

I’m slightly obsessive about making bread. I’ve destroyed 2.5 bread machines. I used them so much that they just up and died on me. In just over one year, I went through 2.5 bread machines.

It’s now been years since I’ve had one. And I miss it dearly. For a while I was dedicated to making bread (French, sourdough, English muffins, white whole wheat, pretzels) using my KitchenAid Stand Mixer, and then it came close to burning it out, and dediced to give the whole bread making thing a rest.

Except for making all kinds of pizza dough (beer batter, thin and crispy, Pioneer woman perfect pizza crust)  for our Friday night pizza pig out, the mixer enjoys cookies, muffins, cupcakes and brownies. It seems pretty happy with this arrangement.

And then, Secret Recipe Club assignments were sent out. And thus started my renewed obsession with baking bread.

My poor KitchenAid Mixer, it didn’t see it coming.

Chris, half of the food bogging duo from The Keenan Cookbook has fueled my bread making addiction. One simple recipe, tomato basil bread, and it’s all coming back.

The yeasty aroma filling the air.

The dough, rising, rising, rising.

The first bite into warm, crusty bread.

The favor explosion.

I’m obsessed. Again. I expect to see both eye rolls and applause from my family.

This tomato basil bread, or as I’ve taken to call it, pizza bread, makes a killer grilled cheese sandwich. It’s the perfect crusty bread to wrap around a BLT. When it’s slathered with a thick layer of garlic butter, topped with parmesan and grilled, well, let’s just say it’s as close to heaven as bread can get.

P.S. I’m a litte sad because I just noticed that The Keenan Cookbook posted one amazing recipe for Snickerdoodles, my most favorite cookie after anything chocolate. They are Snickerdoodles filled with cream cheese. Oh yes, they are. If I had just a few more hours to my day, I totally would have made these too. Rest assured, they are on my list of recipes to try. 

This post is proudly linked up to Mondays: Mouthwatering Mondays, Made By You Monday, Mingle Monday, The Girl Creative Tuesdays: Tuesdays and the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, It's a Blog Party, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On Wednesdays: Show and Tell, Works for Me Wednesday Thursdays: It's a Keeper Thursdays, Strut Your Stuff, Full Plate Thursdays, Chic & Crafty Party, Transformation Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday Fridays: I'm Loving It, Foodie Friday, Simply Designing, Show and Tell Friday Saturdays: Sweets for a Saturday, Positively Splendid, Saturday Nite Special Sundays: Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Sundae Scoop Party, The Sunday Showcase Party

Tomato Basil Pizza Bread is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Can I tell just how giddy I am over planning this week’s menu?

It’s not because avocados are on sale this week and I’m planning on buying whatever the store has and eating them all day every day.

It’s not because I’m making fortune cookies this week for Teacher’s Appreciation week.

It’s not because I always get a little giddy when thinking about food and recipes.

It’s because ZipList has just added a new menu planning option. Now I can save recipes to my recipe box, sync it to Google Cal or iCal, add ingredients to my shopping list and plan out our meals for the week.

Everything is all in one place. I love it. I’m in love with it. I want to run away and marry it. If that sort of thing was legal.

With that one little addition ZipList has become my recipe and meal planning headquarters.

If you are new to ZipList you can sign up, access your recipe box and shopping list all from the links under “recipes” at the top of the page. You can also save all of my recipes directly to your recipe box using the “save recipe” button, which you will find at the top of each recipe.

You’re welcome.

And with that, here’s our menu for the week:

Dinner

• Creamed Avocado and Lime Chilled Pasta
• Beer Lime Grilled Chicken
• Slow cooker chipotle chicken tacos with balsamic roasted guacamole
• Homemade pizza on beer batter crust with homemade sauce
• Deluxe grilled cheese sandwiches with baked red potato fries
• Veggie burgers with balsamic roasted guacamole
• Leftovers

Lunches

• Greek salads with homemade Greek dressing
• Greek pitas and paninis (I’m slightly obsessed with all things Greek)
• Streusel-topped microwave French toast in a mug

This week I’m also making

• Trail Mix cookies from Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes
• Fortune cookies for Teacher Appreciation week

What are you eating this week?

P.S. I was not paid by ZipList to talk about their product. I just love, love, LOVE it. I can’t live without it.

Proudly linked up with Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie.com

Weekly Meal Plan is a post from: Alli 'n Son

I have to say, I don’t have a new recipe for you today. It’s a good thing there are tons, of mouthwatering, drool-worthy, over-the-top recipes from Aprils’ Sweet Tooth Fridays. Here are the top four recipes from each week.

Which recipe should I try out first?

Better Than Sex Chex Mix by Chef in Training  |  Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes by Bird on a Cake  |  Smore’s Cookie Tarts by Crazy for Crust  |  No-Bake Pumpkin Cake by Talking Dollars and Cents

Raspberry Lemon Fun-da-Middles by Pint Sized Baker  |  Brownie Mud Hen Bars by Crazy for Crust  |  Homemade Peanut Butter Cups by Simply Sweet Home  |  Caramel Custard Pots with Salted Caramel Sauce by a farmgirl’s dabbles

Cinnamon Roll Grilled Cheese by Gallery Kitchen  |  Tiramisu Cups {To Go} by Crazy for Crust  |  Alligator Pies by Crazy for Crust  |  Miss Bonnies Sweet Bread Pound Cake by Simply Sweet Home

Cinnamon Cinnabon Cake by Shugary Sweets  |  Nanaimo bars by Kitchen Trial and Error  |  Healthy Chocolate Crispie Treats by French Press  |  The Best {raw} Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough by Lady with the Red Rocker

Rapunzel Tower Cupcakes by Bird on a Cake  |  Cloud Parfaits by Mrs. Happy Homemaker  |  S’mores Pizza by French Press  |  Peanut Butter S’mores Cups by Back for Seconds

All of these recipes have been Pinned and Stumbled and all images are property of the respective blog. I just swiped them to showcase their awesomeness.

Sweet Tooth Friday

A few suggestions when joining in:

1. Link directly to your recipe {sweet-recipes only please}, not to the main page of your blog.
2. Please only link up recipes, not posts about recipes. 
3. Link back or include the Sweet Tooth Friday button {code is in the side bar}.
4. Visit 2 other blogs and leave comments. You just may make someone’s day.
5. Subscribe to my blog, follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook.

Code for the buttons is in the side bar.

This post is proudly linked up to Mondays: Mouthwatering Mondays, Made By You Monday, Mingle Monday, The Girl Creative Tuesdays: Tuesdays and the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, It's a Blog Party, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On Wednesdays: Show and Tell, Works for Me Wednesday Thursdays: It's a Keeper Thursdays, Strut Your Stuff, Full Plate Thursdays, Chic & Crafty Party, Transformation Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday Fridays: I'm Loving It, Foodie Friday, Simply Designing, Show and Tell Friday Saturdays: Sweets for a Saturday, Positively Splendid, Saturday Nite Special Sundays: Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Sundae Scoop Party, The Sunday Showcase Party

Sweet Tooth Friday, April Favorites is a post from: Alli 'n Son

I love, love, LOVE Mexican food. It is by far one of my all-time favorite cuisines.

I love, love, LOVE it.

Which is also why I love Cinco de Mayo. Because it gives me an excuse to eat guacamole with abandon.

Oh how I love guacamole. Right at this very moment there’s an avocado sitting on my counter, calling my name. It’s taunting me with it’s rich, creamy goodness. I’m actually considering having a slice of it in place of chocolate tonight.

No, not really.

To get you in the mood, here are a few of my favorite Mexican recipes.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tacos

Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

Chicken and Portobello Mushroom Fajitas

Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies

What are you cooking for Cinco de Mayo?

Cinco de Mayo Recipes is a post from: Alli 'n Son

In no particular order, a few things that make me smile.

Learning how to properly use a knife, how to care for them (sharpen EVERY time you use it) and making some mighty tasty food with a group of knife-happy people.

Reading in my bed, at night, without having to hide under the covers. The boys are finally sharing a bedroom, which means that after nine months I have my bedroom back! I mean, Hubs and I, we finally have our bedroom back. Yup.

A final cup of hot chocolate on a windy and chilling evening, just before the season turns too warm.

The first chocolate-covered strawberry and banana smoothie of the season.

Feet that can carry me seven miles in under one hour.

A homecoming.

Okay, I lied this last one is totally my favorite.

What are a few of your favorite things?

This post is proudly linked up with Parenting BY Dummies, Seven Clown Circus, Better in Bulk, A Beautiful Mess, Live and Laugh…Out Loud, Life with Kaishon.

Instagram Wednesday is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Are you ready for this? It’s another desert recipe. But not just any dessert recipe. This is easy. It’s fast. It’s an everyday dessert featuring none other than COOL WHIP Whipped Topping.

Very few nights pass in our house where there isn’t dessert. A cookie. A brownie. Some ice cream. Not all at once. Okay, okay, sometimes all at once.

We are dessert people. Through and through. 100% dessert people. It’s in our blood.

I do so love a good complicated dessert. Something that takes time and love. Thought and planning. Something with layers and fillings. Something that perhaps takes days to create. Something so over the top, that when it’s all said and done, I’m so exhausted that I swear I will never make it again. No matter how delicious it is.

I can’t create sweetness like that every day, though. I just can’t. When dinner is finished, the table cleared, the kitchen cleaned, toys put away and after the bedtime routine is complete, I deserve something a little sweet. But I’m too exhausted to create something complicated.

And yet, my sweet tooth must be satisfied.

That’s where the inspiration for this recipe came from. Something that takes minimal time and effort, yet is still creative and has amazing flavor. Something that I can even give as a gift (isn’t Teacher’s Appreciation week coming up?). Cheesecake. No-bake cheesecake. Peanut butter and jelly no-bake cheesecake, featuring my secret ingredient: COOL WHIP.

Who knew that no-bake cheesecake could be so creamy and totally fulfilling?

I love me some pie crust. Sometimes, I love it even more than the pie itself.

Except of course when we are talking cheesecake. Nothing compares to cheesecake.

The most difficult part about this recipe? Waiting. You have to wait to put the finishing touches on these beauties. Fours hours to be exact.

I should mention that sampling is totally acceptable before the four-hour wait is up. In fact, it’s mandatory.

My sweet tooth has officially been satisfied with just a few ingredients that I usually have on hand: graham crackers, peanut butter, jelly, cream cheese and COOL WHIP.

I think that tonight, we just may have to start with dessert.

What you add makes it. #coolwhipmoms

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received coupons for free COOL WHIP Whipped Topping and a stipend. Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content.

This post is proudly linked up to Mondays: Mouthwatering Mondays, Made By You Monday, Mingle Monday, The Girl Creative Tuesdays: Tuesdays and the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, It's a Blog Party, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On Wednesdays: Show and Tell, Works for Me Wednesday Thursdays: It's a Keeper Thursdays, Strut Your Stuff, Full Plate Thursdays, Chic & Crafty Party, Transformation Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday Fridays: I'm Loving It, Foodie Friday, Simply Designing, Show and Tell Friday Saturdays: Sweets for a Saturday, Positively Splendid, Saturday Nite Special Sundays: Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Sundae Scoop Party, The Sunday Showcase Party

No Bake Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake in a Jar is a post from: Alli 'n Son