The Pioneer Woman's Banana Bread

I have never been a fan of bananas. I might be able to bring myself to eat a bite or two of one every now and then, but I REALLY have to be in the mood for it. Other than that, I'd prefer to have nothing to do with bananas... except when it comes to banana bread. I may not like bananas, but I love banana bread (no nuts, though, please). Go figure.
A week or so ago, my sweet husband brought home two bunches of bananas from the grocery store... and then proceeded to leave them on the kitchen counter and NOT eat them (he DOES like bananas... so does Rylee). A couple days ago, I walked into the kitchen to get something out of the fridge, and as I passed the counter where the bananas were sitting, neglected and still uneaten, I noticed they were covered in those telltale brown spots, as if to say, "If you don't eat me or do something with me soon, I'm going to go bad." I fed one to Rylee later that day, but since I knew there was no way she and Jordan would eat 12 bananas in the next day or two, I decided it'd be best if I just went ahead and made some banana bread.
The Pioneer Woman has a great recipe for banana bread that I've made once before, so I pulled it out again, gathered all the necessary ingredients, and got to baking. Here's the recipe:


Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups + 2tbls. sugar
3 whole eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
4 cups + 2tbls. flour
1tsp. baking soda
1 1/2tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Preparation/Baking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour bundt pan.
Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and beat.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all combined.
Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving.


Since I had 12 bananas I needed to use up, I ended up making this recipe THREE times. I made two batches in a bundt pan as the recipe instructs, but I decided to divide the last batch into an 8-slot mini-loaf pan, baked at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. It was enough to make 16 mini-loaves. I added chocolate chips to half of them. I haven't tried banana bread with chocolate chips before, but I've heard it's extra yummy, so we'll see how they turned out. Anyway, my house now smells like banana bread (which I don't mind at all), and my family and I will be eating on banana bread for a while, but that's okay, too, because... well... it's yummy. I'm also going to take some to church tomorrow morning to share with our Sunday school class... cause I'm just that sweet.
Anyway, that's all I have for now. I know I still have a TON of backtracking/updating to do, but I'll try to get back to that another day. Until next time...

16 mini-loaves of banana bread

one of the two batches of banana bread I made in the bundt pan

I Got a Haircut

Last week, I got a haircut. Might not be a big deal to you, but it was to me. I have been wearing my hair long for years. Back in middle school (I think), I decided to grow my bangs out to be the same length as my hair, and I've had it that way ever since. Of course I've gotten trims periodically over the years, and I've usually had layers cut into it as well, but overall, it's been the same style for years. When I was pregnant with Rylee, I decided to get my hair cut a medium length and get long, side-swept bangs. I pretty much hated it. I have never been good about knowing how to style my hair, and the long bangs drove me crazy. I told myself I would never do that again. Well, it's been a couple of years, my bangs had grown out with the rest of my hair, and I was ready for a change again. As a mom of two little ones, I wanted something that wouldn't be so "in the way" all the time. My hair was so long that, any time I would lean over to pick up the baby, I couldn't even see him because my hair was all in my face. (Before you say it, I know what you're thinking... "Why not just pull it back in a ponytail?" Well... I don't always think of that. And even when I do, the baby just grabs a fist-full of hair and pulls it right out. So it's pointless.) So anyway, I decided I wanted to get my hair cut. And I mean really cut. I started looking online for pictures of medium-length hairstyles with bangs. Not those annoying, long, side-swept bangs again. No sir. I mean legit, straight-across-the-forehead bangs. I ended up finding this picture and fell in love (NOT with the girl... with her hair):

That's actress Emily Deschanel, big sister to actress Zooey Deschanel. I didn't know Zooey had a big sister, but anyway, I found this picture of her, and her hairstyle was exactly what I had in mind for myself. And how perfect is it that her name is Emily, too? It was like a sign or something, right? (Totally kidding.) So anyway, I took this picture with me to show my hairstylist, and I did it... I got my hair cut. Five inches - gone.
It's VERY different from what I've been used to all these years (especially the bangs), but I think I like it so far. I still don't have the first idea of how to style it to actually make it look like Emily Deschanel's (I need a hair straightener to do that... too bad I don't own one or even know how to use one...), but it feels a lot better, and it's nice to have a change. I've gotten several compliments on it, and people have told me I look like a more "mature" mom now, so I guess it's gone over well so far. So anyway, without further ado, here's what I look like now:

Ryan's 4-Month Check-Up

It has been almost a full month since my last post, and that really saddens/bothers me. I miss blogging, and I am SO behind on posting about life lately, but I tell ya... it's REALLY hard to find free time with two little ones to take care of. I only have about a two-hour window during the day when they are both down for a nap at the same time, but then I have a whole house full of things that need to be done, like dishes and laundry and vacuuming... the list just goes on and on. It's a day after day, never-ending cycle, and needless to say, it unfortunately doesn't leave much time for blogging (or reading, which is another passion of mine that I'm trying to pick back up). I realize I probably won't ever get caught up on all of the things I've wanted to post about the past several months, but I figure I've got to try to start somewhere. So, with that said, I wanted to attempt to post an update from Ryan's 4-month check-up at the pediatrician's office on Monday.
I don't even remember how old Ryan was when I last posted an update on him, but I really can't believe he's already 4 months old. He is such a sweet, happy baby. He is always smiling and laughing. He loves to reach for my face and try to pull me to him so he can give me big, wet "kisses". He can roll over from his back to his stomach. He sucks his thumb, just like his big sister. And boy oh boy, is he teething! I don't remember Rylee ever being very fussy while she was teething, and she didn't finally cut her first tooth until she was 10 months old (if I remember correctly), but Ryan has been pretty fussy the past week or so, and his hands are CONSTANTLY in his mouth, so it'll be interesting to see when he cuts his first tooth. Considering the fact that I'm nursing him, I'm in no rush for it to happen.
ANYWAY, on Monday of this week, it was time for me to take Ryan to the doctor for his 4-month check-up. The visit went well, and Dr. Trumbull was very pleased with how he's doing. He now weighs 17 pounds, 8 ounces, putting him in the 90th percentile of weight among other babies his age, and he is 26 3/4 inches long, putting him in the 97th percentile of length among other babies his age. He is a big, healthy baby, and I couldn't be more thankful. (He's currently wearing 6-month sized clothes, but based on his weight and height, it's time to move him up to 9-month clothes! Crazy!) Dr. Trumbull told me we can take Ryan off of his Zantac medicine soon, which I was happy to hear, and he discussed the importance of having him on a schedule, which I've already been working on with him for about two months. He's been sleeping through the night for about a month now (praise the Lord!), and he's doing really well going down for his naps every day. Dr. Trumbull told me to start him on infant cereal in about a month, and a couple weeks after that, we'll start vegetables and fruits. My baby is growing up fast! At the end of the appointment, Ryan had to get three shots and an oral vaccination (which I think is just as hard - if not harder - on me than it is on him), so he was pretty pitiful the rest of the day. Overall, though, he's doing great, and I'm so thankful for such a precious blessing from the Lord. Here are some pictures I snapped of Ryan at the pediatrician's office while we were waiting for the doctor to come in: