Miss Josey in the month of May

It has been a fun few weeks!! My first Mother's Day, my parents came to visit me for 6 days, Josey started rolling over and she turned 5 months old!

Sadly I didn't take any pictures of when Opa and Oma came to visit, other than pictures of a stained table that my mom and I did together. Which is really cool, but that's a later post...

Photos of things that have been happening at the McCausland household :)

Mother's Day

One of very few family pictures. Awe! 

First Cabbage Patch Doll! 

Josey loves her doll! I'm thinking she will be like her Kohrs cousins, who are obsessed with babies! Jocelyn walks around with her doll calling for Josey saying, "Osey! Oooooosey!" So cute!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

This was Josey's first time rolling over!!! I missed it. But found her like this and took a picture anyways. She's been showing off her new skill ever since! Still working on rolling from stomach to back, but it will come soon! This was right before she turned 5 months :)

Motorcycle Walker!

Josey has been scooting around in the kitchen ever since I first put her in this. She loves that she can move on her own, and keep a better eye on me while I'm making dinner or doing dishes. I think it is so cute! Also a great feature is the on/off switch and the volume control! Makes a happy household!

Found her reflection!

First solo feeding!

Aaahhh! For me and her! She can drink a bottle by herself! Well kind of by herself. While I really like to hold Josey and give her the bottle... I must admit I have been looking forward to this. I love how she did it all reclined and figured out how to put her chest higher so she wouldn't have to use her arms. That's the life! She looks pretty comfy huh?

What a crazy thing, being a parent. Love all the firsts and the good morning squeals in her crib each day. She is getting so big! We thank God every day that we have her. She is tearing our hearts out (in a good way) I hope she never stops!

Lead Me

I copy and pasted this from a lyric website. I heard/actually listened to this song for the first time this morning. 


WOW. So True!


I'm not posting this because I'm unhappy. Yes, some days are HARD and not what I "expected"... but I see this as the daily struggle, all the responsibility on my husbands shoulders... the cry for a leader in the home. A prayer somewhat similar that I've heard him pray, and together we continue to pray. 


Sanctus Real - “Lead Me”

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone


Click here - Music Video

Watch it! Listen to it! :) Have a good day!

The WHOLE Chicken

This was pretty intimidating to cook for me. I bought it in a moment of confidence and a sale at the grocery store. I didn't know what the heck to do with it. So I let the little chicken sit in the freezer waiting to be made, until last night.

This is what I did with it. And it was surprisingly easy!

Recipe:

1 (3-4 pound) whole chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Dash of country herb seasoning

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Rinse chicken under cold running water, take out giblets. Pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken in smaller baking pan. Rub with olive oil. Mix together spices in separate bowl, and sprinkle on all sides. Put an extra dash of salt, pepper, and country herb seasoning on all sides. Put butter under the skin by the breasts. Before putting chicken in oven, flip it so it is breast side DOWN. I also added half an onion cut into wedges around the chicken. And gave it a few slaps, because that's what seemed like the right thing to do. 

Now roast the chicken in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Baste with drippings and lower temperature to 475 and cook for another 20 minutes. Flip the chicken over to breast side UP with tongs, baste, and lower the temperature on last time to 425 for 20 minutes. Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Take out of oven and let rest, covered, for 10-15 minutes. 

Came out awesome! We are using the leftovers on sandwiches, or by itself. You can also take it off the bone and freeze it for a quick dinner on a later date. Buying the whole chicken is cheaper than most other meats, 89 cents a pound, on sale, here! 

Glad I finally made my chicken, wasn't as painful as I thought it would be!

It's Raining... We're eating!

Food.

It's a necessary part of our day. So why don't we make it healthy and enjoy it?!

I know that things I put on here wouldn't be categorized as "healthy" in many people's eyes. Or even mine all the time. But if it's homemade, from scratch, REAL ingredients, it's healthy to me. Whole milk anyone? Real butter? Sour cream? Cream cheese? Making cookies, brownies etc. from scratch? Making your own mashed potatoes even?

I do indulge in the plastic container meal, or from the box... Duh, you need backup. Ooo and chinese take out!

So, eat this super quick and easy healthy food!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- asparagus
- bacon
- toothpicks
In a deep skillet, put about 1/2 inch water, or enough to just cover asparagus. Cut the hard ends off of asparagus and put in pan. Let heat up in water just until fork tender. You don't want it to go longer than this. Empty pan of water, put back on stove for next step. Once asparagus is cool enough to handle, wrap a strip of bacon around two pieces of asparagus. Secure with toothpick on each end. Fry the bacon wrapped asparagus in pan until bacon is cooked.

Recipe credits to my sister Laura, except for the toothpicks part :)
We have eaten this 3 times in the past week or so and I am not sick of it yet!

Josey has been getting in on the eating action to!

How dare I stop feeding her to take a picture

Sweet potatoes and carrots are awesome!

By the way... This toy suctioned to her tray is awesome! It's a great distraction while I'm getting the next bite! If I would have known it makes noise every time it spins I wouldn't have gotten it, but of course Josey loves the noise. 

We had a good weekend. Looked at a house in town to rent and fell in love with it.

We are moving. 

Yay! The house we live in has charm.... but charm faded when we got our first months utility bill. Charm especially faded throughout the winter with bills that made me cringe, all the while still freezing my butt off. Every time the wind blows the curtains move. 

I am so excited to decorate and get all settled in a new home. The next house has TWO bathrooms! One connected to the master! Sweet! There is a dishwasher too! LAAA! We haven't had one yet, and this makes me very happy. I am excited to be in town close to the river, playgrounds, stores. It would be a long walk to the store, but worth saving on fuel these days! The lot that the house is on is very big. We are at the end of 2 roads, which created a loop around the house, so we have no neighbors touching our yard. I'm excited about that! So I'm going to get the ball rolling on everything it takes to move. Can't wait to be done and enjoying some central AC this summer!