They will amazingly grow befor your very eyes!

NO I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT CHIA PETS! LOL I'm talking about Matthew and Analise! They're getting SO BIG NOW! Ana is 7 months old.. crawling sitting up saying DADA and picking on little brother Matt! And Matt is now 2 1/2 and DRIVING ME CRAZY with those terrible 2's!!!! Thank God for the kids' afternoon naps! Between running after Matt, making sure he's not climbing onto any furniture, coffee tables, dinner tables, chairs etc. and making sure Ana is entertained and fed and everything you need to do for a 7 month old... I'm surprised that I even have time to clean the house!!!
By the time 7:00 PM rolls around I must say that I'm excited that in 30 minutes They will be in bed asleep and I will FINALLY get some much needed relaxation!

My cure for all the chaos: COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE! keeps me going and leaves me with enough energy to dance with the kids around the house to some music after all the chaos ends. (Mommy's workout) they love it!

Matthew and Analise

Analise & Matthew have been growing up WAY TOO FAST! Ana's already learning to sit up all by herself, and she wants to walk! she's constantly go go go... unless she's sleeping that is.. she does that very well also! haha. Matthew has really come around to animals. It seems that ever since we bought our little kitten, Markie he's not as shy around them. Although, as soon as Markie is old enough Steven and I have decided to get her declawed.. as mean as i think that is, it's necessary with two little ones in the house.. especially with a kitten.

We'll be traveling to California soon for my sister-in law's wedding! She's getting married in Lake Tahoe on the 4Th of July and I think it's going to be amazing. Steven and I are really excited to see everyone and be back in our home town again.

Here are some pictures! :)




Analise holding her spoon, the first time she had her Rice Cereal last month.



such a beautiful smile!



i love this picture of Analise. She looks so content



Matthew with our new kitten Markie... or should I say, HIS new kitten. :)



where you goin Markie?



awwwh

impassioned

Today my word is Impassioned because i think it's nicer sounding than your typical "angry" or "mad"

it appeared on the synonyms page under the definition for angry. Impassioned can be used in a number of contexts, but today, it's being used to describe an anger.

Amaranthine

The reason why i chose this word is because I've loved it since i was in junior high school. I even have a tattoo of the word on my back.

In the dictionary Amaranthine means :
1. of or like the amaranth.
2. unfading; everlasting: a woman of amaranthine loveliness.
3. of purplish-red color.

an Amaranth is an imaginary undying flower

To me the word means Undying, immortal, everlasting. And the reason why i hold it close to me is because after my time comes.. i know i will live on through my writing, my songs, my pictures, and art. Therefor, generations to come will know my name and hear my story. My Love for my family will live on forever.










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and the word of the day today is......

VAINGLORIOUS! (thanks to my cousin beth! who also does a "word of the week" and this was hers)

Vainglorious comes from the word Vainglory meaning:

excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements, abilities, etc.; boastful vanity.

Vainglorious:filled with or given to vainglory: a vainglorious actor.

Thank you Beth for telling me about this word! awesome.

JILL'S WORD OF THE DAY!

Hello To All!!!

SO I'VE DECIDED TO DO THIS NEW THING.. HOPEFULLY I'LL BE ABLE TO KEEP UP ON IT. I'VE DECIDED THAT EVERY DAY I'M GOING TO PICK A WORD THAT BEST DESCRIBES HOW I'M FEELING AT THAT MOMENT, A PARTICULAR EVENT THAT STICKS OUT IN MY MIND ABOUT THAT DAY, OR JUST A WORD THAT I MAY HAVE HEARD AND JUST DECIDED... HEY! I LIKE THAT WORD! HAHA.. AS LONG AS IT'S UNIQUE AND SOMETHING YOU WOULDN'T HEAR EVERYDAY. THIS WILL BE CALLED.... JILL'S WORD OF THE DAY! I'm very excited!!! and today's word will be..........


humdinger: which means funny.

I LOVE IT! i'm going to try to use it a lot until it annoys my husband... because it will. LOL Whenever i learn new words i try to use them as often as possible.. hahaha.. He knows he loves it! sometimes i even get him using the word too! that's the best part. I'm thinking that when the kids get older this will be a fun game for them to play as well. Not only will it help them have a better vocabulary, but it will be good family fun. (Ofcourse the words will be more educational) haha

tuna fish

OK. So last night, Steven wanted something "light" but he insisted that it have tunafish in it as well! lol (he had a PT test the next morning and wanted "good for you" food) Being that the only thing i've EVER made with tunafish was casserole and tuna sandwiches (HAHA) i hadn't the slightest clue what to make for him. SO..... i did what i always do, i went to good ol' dependable GOOGLE and typed in "light tunafish recipes" and came across the "Bumblebee Tuna" website.. They have literally HUNDREDS of different recipes you can go through.. some of the stuff i never even thought of using tuna fish in! SO, i came across this one recipe that called for Penne pasta, basil, EVOO, lemon juice and zest, and ofcourse, tuna. I didn't have Basil or lemon but i had fresh spinache leaves.. so i figured, why not substitute? and i kind of let my imagination take over from there. I took the basic sauce ingredient which was nothing more then extra virgin olive oil, added some garlic and spinache salt pepper, italian seasoning at saute'd. after all of that was done saute'ing i opened a 12oz can of tuna, drained it.. and just dumped it in there! lol
then i started thinking that i wanted more greens in there, something you could really bite into... so i added some broccoli. When the penne was done cooking i tossed it all together and told steven, "This is possibly the healthiest thing i've ever made.. i hope you like it! lol" Needless to say, He LOVED it, and ended up going back for seconds! YAY!!! i succeeded! AND I also thought it was quite delicious.
You guys should try it!

a recipe that i made up!!!

o.k so i know this might sound a little odd.. but i promise you that it is GOOD!

LIL SMOKIE POOR ITALIAN DISH BY Jillian Bittle:

SERVES 2

ingredients:
-penne pasta (1/4 THE BOX)
-chicken stock (enough so that you can boil the pasta)
-lil smokies beef links (about 1/4 of a package)
-parmesan cheese (to sprinkle on top)
-butter (just enough to saute the shallot and garlic)
- 1 tbsp tomatoe paste
-1 shallot
-2 cloves garlic
-pepper (to taste)
-Italian seasoning (to taste)

Directions:
1. boil penne pasta in chicken stock until al dente'
2. while boiling the pasta, saute the shallot and garlic in butter
3. add the "lil smokies" to the saute'
4. add the pepper and italian seasoning to the saute' after about 2 minutes
5. The noodles should be done about now - add the penne to the saute'
6. add about 1 tablespoon of tomatoe paste
7. Stir together and let sit and simmer about 5 minutes
8. sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and serve.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

LOVING YOU ALWAYS,
Jillian Bittle

Just A little peak into the type of people that live near me here in Alabama.... LOL

this is way too funny! i couldn't believe it


HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY EVERYONE! HAHAHHA

Right around the Corner

Soon we will be welcoming another beautiful Bittle Baby Girl into the family! I am set up to be induced on the 11Th of February at 5:30 AM. I'm pretty nervous! But I'm glad that my mom will be here to help Steven and I with Matthew while we get used to having another baby in the house! Only 11 more days and we'll have our little girl! we're so happy.

I'll be posting pictures and what not on here as I receive more baby shower gifts from all of you! Also, we will be sending out a picture of our little baby girl to everyone as a thank you!

Keep in touch and I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

much love,
Jillian Bittle