Love Actually Is All Around

Yes, the title of this post is taken from the movie Love Actually (one of my favs). The reasoning behind that is because I love the message that the movie portrays...people start to focus on the hate and violence that is definitely a part of this world but that doesn't mean that we should deny the love that actually does surround us. So to remind myself of this little thing called love, I wanted to write a list of a few things that makes me remember the love that God has placed in my life. Then I thought I would share! So here goes...

*These are not in order*
1) Waking up to already made coffee...reminds me of what a good hubby I have. :)
2) My baby's laugh, definitely contagious.
3) The sound of my hubby's truck pulling up in the driveway.
4) Sunday night dinners with the fam.
5) Conversations with my nephews.
6) Holding a sleeping baby, mine in particular. :)
7) Breakfast with my girlies.
8) Thinking of and remembering my grandparents.
9) The smell of my baby boy...sounds kinda weird but other mommies you know what I'm talking about!
10) Realizing that how much I love my family is how much (and more) that God loves His children.
*There are so many more things in life that I could list, but these ten are a just a glimpse of how blessed I am.

Now, since Valentine's Day was this month and the saying goes that to get to a man's heart, you go through his stomach - I decided to try out a special dinner for my valentine.  Without even knowing if I was a fan of eggplant, I went with a stuffed eggplant recipe. And guess what? I am a fan! It turned out so good that it will definitely be a recurring dinner in our house.  Healthy, somewhat easy and delish! Check out Rachael Ray's website for the recipe if you already know your're an eggplant fan or if you're willing to find out!

reading is one of his favorite things to do...like his mama!

Also, this month by baby boy turned 9 months old (he's almost ten months, now).  It's just absolutely insane how fast little sleeping babies grow into babbling, crawling, chewing on everything infants! How I admire those with more than one little one at home because, man, this one keeps me busy. He is now realizing that he's a big boy and getting braver by the minute, trying to walk, finding his vocal cords, reading the many books around the house and eating just about everything he get his little pincher fingers on....including dirt on the floor, which is my new motivation for keeping a clean house. Here are a few recent pictures of my ever-growing baby boy in action.

he also loves being outside...that he gets from his dada!

another favorite pastime, eating!

Cozy Up!

*Disclaimer*
I know it's been month since I've last posted...but cut me some slack! I'm a new mom with a long list of to-do's and who also enjoys her afternoon naps. :) I will try to do better this month.

With that said...let me share with you a bit of what's been happening in the Souza household.

If you have talked with me recently, you know that my sweet baby boy is not a very good sleeper.  For awhle we were ending up on the recliner after battling it out with the crib so, taking the advice of a few people, I decided to try co-sleeping.  If you would have asked me while I was pregnant if we were going to co-sleep, I would have given you a firm no.  That was pre-baby, and well-rested me talking...this is post-baby, would like to sleep at night me saying that co-sleeping has been a good thing in our house.  He actually starts off in his bed and then ends up in ours halfway through the night.  But, we all get the rest we need (with the exception of those restless, teething nights) and wake up happy! Surprisingly, I actually enjoy snuggling up to my baby and waking to see his smiling face! It's a really good way to start my day and co-sleeping...it's one way to cozy up on these cold winter nights!

Here's another way.
Another thing going on in our house is my cooking...surprisingly, it's going pretty well.  I've had several successes and only a few failures in this cooking quest.  One of those successes was Fantastic Black Bean Chili (fyi, I didn't name it).
I actually made this for dinner last night and with a side of cornbread, it was delish! I substituted the crushed tomatoes with two cans of tomato sauce (because I didn't have any tomatoes) and it can came out really good especially since my hubby is not a big fan of tomato chunks.
Go ahead, go try it!!
What you need:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground turkey

3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Make it!

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat; cook onion and garlic until onions are translucent. Add turkey and cook, stirring, until meat is brown. Stir in beans, tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, basil and vinegar. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 60 minutes or more, until flavors are well blended.
Top with your favorite shredded cheese and enjoy!

Snuggling with a warm baby, making a bowl of yummy chili, drinking a cup of chamomile tea.  Take your pick and cozy up!
Me, I choose all three. :)