DAY 741... Back In The Saddle Again

Well another school year has started which means it's back to work for this mama. I work as the Afterschool Director for South Fork Elementary School in Rexburg. I LOVE my job. It is a huge blessing and it's something that I feel as though I am good at. It can be difficult to hire and fire people, and sometimes the kids can be a little wild, but it's an enjoyable and definitely a rewarding job!!!

Besides work starting up again, we have had our first football games of the season! Last year our varsity football team was undefeated and the Idaho 5A state champs. Last night we lost 33-3. It was kind of a rough start to this season, but I'm hoping that it was just a bad night. The team still had a blast cheering and it's always nice to get that first game out of the way and to put those nerves behind you. PS - our bus driver was 45 minutes late, pretty much drove on the rumble strip the entire drive, and drove 10 miles under the speed limit the entire time. Needless to say, the bus barn will be getting a phone call from me and the dance adviser on Tuesday.

 Waiting for our bus to take us to Poky!

 Varsity before their first game at the Holt Arena!

 My seniors! These 4 kids are AMAZING!

JV getting ready to rock their game!

I did have finals this past week, which means that I get a 3 week break from grad school!!! Hooray! This is my first break in 2 semesters! Only 5 more semesters before I graduate! Really thought, I love the school and I love the program and I have learned so much that has helped me with my coaching!

Aniston is cutting teeth molars and it is NOT pleasant! That really makes coaching and working and school that much more difficult when I have an unhappy baby.

People ask me all of the time how I do it all. Really, it's easy. I wake up and coach, come home do homework and play with Aniston, go to South Fork and work, come home eat dinner and play with Aniston, go to games, come home put Ani to bed, do more homework. Sometimes I sleep, sometimes I eat. But I LOVE to stay busy! Life is suppose to be tough sometimes right? And if this is the tough times then I can definitely take it!

Here's to a GREAT YEAR in every way possible!

Dear Aniston... Part 8

Dear Aniston,

Please...

NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER 

 look up to Miley Cyrus as a role model. You are WAY better than that.

That. Is. All.

Love - Your Mom

Monday Munchies... Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos

I LOVE spicy food! Mexican food is my FAVORITE! When I stumbled across this recipe I knew that 1) I had to make it and 2) I needed to add more cheese! This would make a fabulous appetizer for a Labor Day BBQ or just to eat. They are surprisingly filling! Per serving there is 6 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein.

Shopping List:
5 Large Jalapenos
1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese
1lb Ground Sausage
1 cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 cup of Mozzarella Cheese

You need to preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Next brown the sausage. I used fresh pork sausage, so I didn't need to drain my sausage, but drain it after it's cooked.

Cut the top off your jalapenos and cut them in half, seeding them as you go. I promise, they are still spicy even without the seeds.

Once the sausage is completely cooked and drained, mix it in a large bowl with the cream cheese (I softened mine to make it easier to mix) and all of the Parmesan cheese. I am a competitive high school cheerleading coach so of course I was watching Hellcats while I was cooking. Inspiration right?

Take a spoon and fill the jalapeno with the stuffing.

Top with Mozzarella cheese.

Cook for about 20 minutes, but check continually after 15 minutes to make sure the cheese does not burn. I almost had a disaster on my hands.

ENJOY!

We had enough stuffing left over for some breakfast taquitos the next morning. Super yummy!!!

DAY 733... Holy MISTAKE Batman!

I just need to vent for a second. I am a HUGE Christopher Nolan fan and my crush on Christian Bale goes back to my 8th birthday! I was so impressed with what Nolan did with the latest Batman trilogy. Although I think Bale's Batman's voice could have used some work, I think he was a FABULOUS Bruce Wayne.
So really... Ben Affleck? Really? I think he is a good person with a beautiful wife and family, but he cannot be Batman. He just can't. I think that he could pull off Bruce Wayne for sure, but really? This may be the downfall of Batman. Bummer!

And that will be accomplished with this movie. I'm sure I will see this movie and I will happily eat my words if he does a good job, but I'm about 99.3% sure that we will watch this movie cringing.

Why do we constantly ruin potentially good movies with super bad casting mistakes???? L-A-M-E!

In other news, Aniston is adorable and has spent the day putting towels on her head and running into walls, couches, the fridge... you name it! Always entertaining with Ani around!

DAY 732... Nield Photography Does the Ahlstrom's

Family pictures!!! I just LOVE them! But let me tell you what... Taking pictures is a thousand times harder with a baby! But I think that my sister did a pretty good job. If you are in the Medford, OR area and need pictures GO TO HER! Check her blog out here. Ready to see them????

 I know what you are thinking... These people are AWESOME! I know. Yes, we scaled a 10 foot rock to take this picture and yes it was dangerous... but it was soooooooooooooooo worth it! We gave Aniston Kate the Pride Rock treatment! She is now officially part of the family!

 Ignore the fact that I look pregnant, cause I'm 100% not, and just look at Ani's face! What a doll!

 Once again, that face! This park was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! So cute!

 My husband does such a good job of making our baby laugh! She ADORES her daddy!

 This is one of my favorites! I wish Ani had smiled, but despite that it still turned out beautiful!

 I am too lazy to move this picture to the end of the post, but we tried to get some of Aniston and her cousin Cortney together... they just weren't ready for that yet, but they look mighty cute in their matching dresses!

 This is the faced that Aniston makes like 73.9% of the time she is awake. It's only fitting that we would all do it together for a photo!

 These two people are my world and they look fantastic together!

 Super cute!

 I just love how little Aniston looks! She is so not a tiny baby, but this picture just reminds me of how small she really is!

 Awwwww. What a cute couple eh?

 Kim insisted on senior picturing me.... She did a good job.

 That smile!

 This is my other favorite picture of the bunch! I cannot believe how perfect Ani's smile is! So gorgeous!

 As serious as can be.

 This little lady is such a ham and just so cute! 

 Awwwwww.

 She loved being able to be on her own side on the bench.

Ani and Mom checking out the ducks!

Another cute cousin picture!

We had so much fun taking pictures! I can't wait to order them and get them up on my walls!!! Thanks Kim!

DAY 731... Always Recording my Baby

I pretty much take pictures and record everything that my Aniston Kate does. Last night she gave us a couple of super fun videos...

I am still dying over this! My chubby bunny, who isn't really chubby at all, literally broke the seat belt on the cart. We tried to put it back on her after we stopped laughing and sure enough... it was broke. I just love her face after the seat belt snapped! Priceless! Sorry Walgreens.

Aniston LOVES animals! Her favorite animal is a bear. She pretty much just runs around growling at people... LOVE IT!

Yes I am a parent who is head over heels for my child and who probably posts way too much about her, but I just want to always savor and remember these moments! Plus, I can't wait to show them to her prom date when she's in high school!

DAY 729... Childhood Cancer Awareness

I think that every coach out there has specific things that they want to promote while they are coaching. For me, I knew that it would be important to be involved in the community and support worthy causes. As a team so far this year (really school hasn't even started but cheerleading is a year round sport baby) we have had a few opportunities to show our support for several illnesses and to volunteer our time to help those who aren't as healthy as we are blessed to be. My team has been AMAZING in being supportive and happy and wanting and willing to give what they can.

Today we had a photo shoot for Be The Gold. This is a Childhood Cancer Awareness Movement and it is AWESOME! You can check out there website and information here. Seriously, is there a better cause to show your support for?

About 2 weeks ago, a girl I knew from high school suffered a tragic loss. Her sweet beautiful baby girl who was only 4 months older than my little Ani Kate died from cancer. I cannot even imagine the heartache and the sense of loss that a mother would feel losing her baby in such an awful way. I could never stand by my baby knowing that she was in pain but that there was nothing that I could do. I would feel so helpless and distraught. My heart just breaks for her over and over again. No parent should ever have to go through losing a child. Don't judge me that I'm totally crying right now.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to have my team featured online for such a wonderful cause!

I snapped a few pictures while the professional ones were being taken and those can be viewed here. And the ones that I have seen look incredible!

I am just so proud to be a coach to such a great group of role models. I am the LUCKIEST coach out there without a doubt!

Monday Munchies... Steak Stir Fry

With the school year starting back up, I have been busy! That's the only bad thing about working for the school district. Eventually after an awesome break you have to go back to work. I love my job, but I am a little sad to be going back to work. Anyway, because of work I like to be able to prepare quick and delicious meals. So I spent a whole whooping 10 minutes on tonight's meal. This meal has 14 grams of carbs and 26 grams of protein. And it was tasty!

Shopping List:

Steak
Stir Fry Veggies
Stir Fry Sauce (your choice)
Rice (optional)

First cut the steak into your desired cut... Don't judge. I may or may not have over defrosted the steak.

Cook the steak.

Add veggies.

Now you may have to drain the steak and veggies before adding the sauce if your veggies were frozen.

And sauce, let simmer, then ENJOY!

I was weak tonight and added rice. But only after I checked to make sure it wouldn't throw me over my 40% of carbs for the day.

DAY 726... Fun at the Fair

This week was daily doubles at cheer practice. One 2 hour practice in the morning and one 2 hour practice at night. It can be pretty exhausting. I tried to make sure my team was having a blast by incorporating surprises and dance parties. But yesterday, after learning that one of our cheerleaders had a pig in the fair, we decided to go to the fair for bonding time instead of practice time. They basically had an AMAZING week of practice! So impressed with my team this year! LOVE THEM!

The best part about going to the fair was that it is FREE!!!! It doesn't even come close to the fair I use to go to in High School, but we had a BLAST!

I prepared for the fair by heading to our local Cal-Ranch store to check out the clearance section for Ani. I knew I just had to have a cowgirl shirt for her to attend the fair in. It was ridiculously hot, so I paired her cute shirt with shorts and her fake converse shoes. How stinking cute is Ani Kate here??? I am so obsessed with my baby girl!

Ani just loved seeing all the animals, especially the pig... but not so much the Goose. It started honking at her and she did not appreciate that so much. My baby is growing up so fast! She is so independent and just wanted to walk around the fair fearless by herself! Such a brave bunny!

 Loving the pigs!

 Baby goats just Ani's size!!! ADORBS!

 Her favorite animal may or may not have been a dog! Haha!

Running away from the goose.

While Spencer was eating dinner, my family walked by so we were able to spend some time with them at the fair.

 Yes.... We just walked through a giant colon!

3 generations! How fun!

A couple of my girls jokingly asked me to ride Spin Out with them... I surprised them by saying yes! I am too old to be riding those rides! I was so nauseous afterwards! But it was a blast!

 Before the ride... Don't worry, Ani didn't go on the ride with us, actually she didn't get to go on any rides because she was too small. Dreams shattered!

 Mentally, emotionally, and physically preparing ourselves for the ride.

 Lift off!

 WHAT?!?!

Done and done!

Since Aniston wasn't able to enjoy the rides, we made sure she had a pickle and a good time in her stroller!

We ended the night with Arctic Circle .79 cent ice cream cones! And of course a courtesy cone for Aniston!

I feel blessed to be able to have such amazing experiences with my little family! Thank goodness for free fairs and family!