sweet summertime...

I cannot believe tomorrow is August 1st, the day I register my little man for 1st grade at a brand new school. Summer has FLOWN by.

Here's what we've been up to for our last summer as a family of three:

We returned to AquaTots for summer swim lessons...

and spent a lot of time practicing at the pool...

...and saw the much anticipated Cars 3!! 

{It was my favorite of ALL the Cars movies!}

We went on a family vacation to San Antonio and had a blast!

but mostly, we spent time at the local library building new things, at the mall painting a gift for our grandma, at home playing board games and doing puzzles, and at church for various activities - including the best vacation bible school ever!

it's a....

We started off this summer with a doctor's appointment for my 20-week check up and ultrasound, where we also found out the gender of our precious little one!

We wanted to make this extra special for Kent, so we gathered up balloons, put them in a box, and had him open it - reminding him, blue is for a boy/brother, pink is for a girl/sister...

He came home from a day out with grandparents to find this:

He went right to work to open it...

...and quickly became excited that he would be a big brother to a little sister!

 We just know that he will be an excellent big brother to this little sister, 

Isabella Rae!

hello there, lonely blog!

Well, hello there, old blog of mine! It's been... what... four and a half years?

Life sure has been busy. We moved to South Texas where I have been teaching, Chad has been a security manager, and Kent has been growing up, amazing us everyday. In a few short weeks, he starts 1st Grade {can you believe it?} and in a few short months, he will be a big brother!

That's right, we are expecting a baby in mid-October. Kent is just as excited as we are. It has caused him to ask lots of questions about when he was in my belly, when he was born, when he was a baby... all of which kept leading me to this old blog of mine!

I'm so thankful I blogged my pregnancy/birth of him and it made me want to do the same with these upcoming precious memories. So for this time in my life, I'm back - if not just to document these moments, hopefully for the long haul to keep this for our family to look back on. :) So, sit back, and enjoy all of these upcoming new posts!

The EASIEST & HEALTHIEST Fudge, EVER!

For Christmas, one of the gifts I got was Hungry Girl's BIG Cookbook. I love to read her books and get great ideas on healthy snacks and eats! I have tried several of her recipes, and they are all pretty good.

Here's my most favorite one:

Peanut Butter Fudge

INGREDIENTS:
1 box (I used low-fat) brownie mix
1 can pure pumpkin
2 tbsp peanut butter

(That's it! REALLY!)

DIRECTIONS:
[1] Mix brownie mix and pumpkin. Top with peanut butter and use a knife to swirl it.
[2] Pour into an 8x8 brownie pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
[3] Cool, and put in fridge for 2 hours. DO NOT CUT yet :)
[4] Once chilled, cut into squares. The texture will be like fudge, not brownies. DELISH!

a much needed update!

So, how has life been for the Stewarts?

Crazy. Hectic. Busy. and Wonderful.

Last Summer, Chad lost his job. He had worked for Walmart off and on for five years, but when they lay off, they always seem to cut his field {loss prevention} first.

He searched and searched for a job and I worked and worked at mine. I love{d} my job, but it is definitely a  demanding one!

When our luck was running short here, we had a long talk and said, really, we could live anywhere. Anywhere in Texas. and be happy.

My parents recently retired here:

Although I wasn't sure it would happen, on a whim I told Chad to apply there and see what happened. So he applied, and we prayed. And prayed. And prayed.

And he got a phone call. For a first interview.

And then a second.

And then a third.

And then an offer! Doing what he loves, but in a better atmosphere {HEB's warehouse}, with better people, and near the ocean! (And my family!)

We continued to pray about it and really felt (for the first time in my life really) LED by God to make this move. The way things didn't work out for him here, but so easily fell into place there.

He accepted, they had him start instantly, and I put notice in at my job and just finished it up Saturday. I will miss my job; but I am excited for this opportunity for Chad, and excited to seek a position teaching again.

So this week, it is just Kent and I -- both off, me not working and him not in daycare. I am getting my taste of what a SAHM is like, and am loving it. We are of course, packing boxes like crazy and trying to get everything ready to move in the meantime, but we are so excited to move towards family and to raise him around the ocean!

I am really, really, really, going to try to keep this blog updated going forward. :)

Welcome back!

Did anyone else notice that playlist.com stopped working across the board, and now all of a sudden, they are working again?  I am not sure the story on that, but my "blogging" music makes me want to jump back into blogging as big changes are headed our family's way! :-)

I will keep you all updated!

The past couple of days... INSTA-style!

Wow, I haven't updated since Easter. Life has just been busy! A lot has been going on at work and so when I get home, most nights it's been dinner, tv, and bed -- not a lot of blogging time in there! ;) But things are quieting down now, so hopefully that will change!

I have been taking lots of pictures with my trusty iphone and loving the instagram app! Here's a summary of what we've been up to lately:

We have been LOVING the beautiful Texas weather and spending a LOT of time outside!

We went down to a little outdoors mall to walk around and enjoy the weather... and they were having a HUGE arts festival with yummy food, amazing art, live music, and these YUMMY margaritas! ;)

Kent and I had dinner with his "auntie", my "bestie", Carolyn! He decided to be a little comedian!

I got a much needed manicure! I feel so girly and pretty! :)

Kent and I have found our favorite activity to do together... color! He can sit still for hours doing this and to me it, it's so relaxing! Every night we've been doing this. :)

Happy Easter!

Love, The Stewart Family

Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

I have to say, I love my new job! I love really working with families of kiddos and helping them get the academic help they need. The hours have taken some getting used to after being on "teacher schedule" for so long (7-4! Now I work anywhere from 8-5, 10-6, or 11-7) With the new hours, I've had to learn how to really cut time in the kitchen so the nights I get home "late", I can still get dinner on the table relatively quickly.

Here are my favorite gadgets that have cut my time down... :)

#1 - Crockpot!



This little guy is my BEST friend in the kitchen. I love it for making baked potatoes, chicken, soups, chilis, tacos, and more! You just throw a few ingredients in it, turn it on LOW and 8 hours later.... have a delicious meal!

#2 - Automatic Can Opener!



This thing ROCKS! I hate messing with the manual can openers, and they always get rusty and hard to turn and gross. You just connect the can to the top of this thing and it opens it for you in seconds. I use it almost every day. LOVE IT.

#3 - Keurig Coffee Maker



We got this one on a whim when we found it for 50% off. It has become our favorite thing in the kitchen! You can make a cup of coffee in seconds, don't have to mess with a full pot, don't have to worry about leaving it on, and everyone can have the type of coffee they like. We are sad that this little guy is starting to go out.... but are planning on getting the top of the line one when we move into our new house because we love it so much!


Now, what do I dream of owning in my kitchen?



Swoon. ;) I would love to have one of these mixers one day... ;) I just can't ever justify spending $300 on it. Maybe for a gift to myself one day?

Happy Birthday, Chad!

So this weekend has been all about celebrating Chad's 33rd birthday!

Yesterday, I surprised him with a box full of his favorite candy, itunes gift cards, and The Hangover II on DVD. :) I also made him the above pictured plate of brownies -- his favorite! (Can you believe he doesn't like cake? CRAZY!)

Today, I will be making him his favorite recipe of mine... lasagna!

Tomorrow, we will be going out to eat with his parents!

Happy birthday, Chad!

Kent's First Haircut

Well, it finally happened... Kent's first haircut! He needed one badly; so we finally took him to a cute little kid's salon nearby and he did GREAT! Of course, "riding" in a fire truck & watching Elmo's world were good bribes to get him to sit still. ;)

A Day at the Park!

Kent, Chad, and I spent a day at the park enjoying the beautiful Texas weather... I got to play with my new-ish camera some more and got some great shots. Here are my faves:

Happy 9 Years!

NINE years ago today...

a guy I worked with at a little Mexican restaurant and I went on our first date.

I can't believe that here we are, NINE years later, married, and have a child together!

He is such a great husband and father and EVERY year gets better.

Here's to NINE-TY more!

Megan & Chad

{excuse me looking a little bit not put together in this photo...
we had just gotten done playing with Kent at the park,
but I wanted to make sure we snapped a photo of us on this day!}

fitting song choice ;)

Don’t know how it is You looked at me
And saw the person that I could be
Awakening my heart
Breaking through the dark
Suddenly Your grace

(Chorus)
Like sunlight burning at midnight
Making my life something so
Beautiful, beautiful
Mercy reaching to save me
All that I need
You are so
Beautiful, beautiful

Now there’s a joy inside I can’t contain
But even perfect days can end in rain
And though it’s pouring down
I see You through the clouds
Shining on my face

(Chorus)

I have come undone
But I have just begun
Changing by Your grace

New Career!

So, the big news is....

I got a new job!

God is SO good. I am so in awe of how he lined things up to make this possible for me. I get a little emotional just thinking about it!

I am now a Director of Education for a brand new Sylvan center that is opening shortly!

I am beyond excited; this is the type of job I have been praying and hoping for -- one where I can really work with parents of struggling students and help make a difference for them; but also one where I can further my career and gain leadership/business experience.

I am so thankful for this opportunity and all the great things to come of it! :)

God always provides! Excited to soon be able to tell you all about the big changes He is working in my life right now!

Joel Osteen

Our church recently opened up their brand new building, The Cathedral of Frisco and it is absolutely AMAZING. It seats 3,000 -- stadium style! The old building seated 500! It is so incredible to watch our church grow...



...To kick off the opening festivities, we had a guest speaker come in to deliver the first message... None other than JOEL OSTEEN! Chad and I were so excited to hear him live. We got their hours early and waited in line to make sure we got a seat.



He was incredible live. SO heartfelt, genuine, and funny to boot! He talked about setting your vision for your life higher than you normally imagine - set it as high as you can and know that God can make it happen for you! I'm holding on to my VISION and setting it HIGH!

Valentine's Day

I'm a couple of days behind, but it's been a busy week! Chad surprised me with BEAUTIFUL tulips and chocolates for Valentine's Day, and my students with the other arrangements/cute mug. I love flowers on the table -- it so brightens the room! I wrote "greater things" on the mug to remind me "greater things are yet to come" -- something I'm holding onto in faith right now. ;)

My chatterbox....

Kent is definitely feeling MUCH better, thank you all for your prayers & kind thoughts!

He is also talking SO much these days! The other day I had to make a list of the words he could say for his class, and I was shocked when I went to write them down... he really is a talker. :) Here is a list of what he is saying right now, at 16 months:

* hi
* bye
* Mama
* Dada
* Elmo
* more
* dude
* uh-oh
* moo
* hey
* shoe
* one
* two
* tis-you (his version of "Thank you")
* puppa (his version of "puppy")
* all do (his version of "all done")

Poor Kent... :(

My little guy has had a cough for the last three or four days that gradually got worse. I tried to get him into his Pediatrician yesterday, but their hours / appointments available were not working with my work hours. On the way home, Kent's cough was pretty bad so I just pulled into an Urgent Pediatric Care and brought him there.

I was pleasantly surprised with the facilities / staff - they were GREAT! {and only a $20 co-pay made them THAT much greater!}

However, I was heartbroken to find out my little guy had RSV - a respiratory infection and needs breathing treatments for the next few days!

The doctor spent literally an hour with Kent, checking his vitals, giving him a breathing treatment, checking his vitals, giving him another breathing treatment, and answering ALL of my scared-new-mom questions! Thankful & grateful for a patient doctor!

Today I had to stay home from work to take care of Kent -- it looks like I might be staying home tomorrow too; but I don't mind and I just want my little guy to feel better!

So, send us some good vibes... :) for little man to get well and for me to be strong for him! Right now, we are giving the treatments every four hours so it's back to being like raising a newborn... very little sleep, lots of stress, but lots of cuddling too!