Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Christmas is just around the corner! One of my favorite traditions during this time of year is friends/neighbor gifts. I grew up on a farm in a small town and every fall we would make hundreds of gallons of fresh apple juice and then a few weeks before christmas we would go out as a family and deliver it to friends, family, and neighbors as our christmas gift! I don't know why I loved it so much but since then I get so excited for this time of year to give give give!

Who doesn't love Hot Chocolate!? This year as I was brain storming ideas for our gift I came across THIS recipe. Being college students we aren't made of money so I was looking for something cute, cheap, and easy and that is exactly what this recipe was. I had most of the ingredients already and all of the cute bags and ribbon in my craft box so this was perfect! This took me only 5 minutes to prepare and about 1-2 total to make the gift tags and package everything up! This recipe makes so much hot chocolate so be prepared to give at least some away!

I made some slight modifications so here is the recipe I made:

1 Box (25.6 oz) of Powered Milk
1 cup Confectioners' Sugar
1 1/2 cups Original Powdered Coffee Creamer
1 Can (2.21lbs.) Nesquick Powdered Chocolate Milk Mix
4 Tbs. Cocoa Powder
1 Box Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
12 Peppermint Candy Canes Crushed.

Mix all the ingredients together in a LARGE bowl and then evenly distribute Cocoa Mix into mason jars or cellophane bags. When you want to drink it combine 1/3 mix with 2/3 water or milk.
* This recipe made about 10 bags.

I made 1 batch of the original recipe and then made a second batch with the modifications. The only things I changed was first, I used a smaller box of Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix because the first recipe was too chocolatey and second, I crushed up a lot more Peppermint Candy Canes, because I felt like I could hardly taste the peppermint the first time.

5 Months

Growth//
[stats will come next month when we go in for our 6 month healthy checkup]

Diapers// We are still in size 1 diapers! Hopefully we will be making the transition to size 2 soon.

Clothes// 5 months old and we are still rocking our 0-3 month old clothes in our house. We are picky though, 0-3 months fit but just plain old 3 month.. not a chance. We love our tiny little Tenley!

Sleep// Anywhere from 10-12 hours. Tenley Loves her crib and has a very hard time sleeping anywhere else, even for naps. It makes going out a little more difficult but I would take that and being able to sleep like a champ any day!

Personality// We have a very happy girl on our hands! She is always talking and squealing at the top of her lungs and she thinks its hilarious. She is easily entertained and loves attention. She may never learn how to roll, crawl, or walk because she knows that if she just gives up, eventually we will pick her up haha. She has no desire to start moving around.

Developments// It is so fun to watch miss T focus on small things like her hands, feet, or toys. She is getting better at her hand control and can grab her toys that are next to her and bring them to her mouth. She is also starting to get her little belly laugh and it is the cutest thing in the world.

Likes// She loves eating, talking, laughing, dancing, bouncing, and her best friends Mr. Giraffe and Mr. Bear.

Dislikes// She still HATES tummy time!! Poor girl may never learn to roll over all the way or crawl...

Misc// Tenley has started eating solids! She loves bananas, carrots, and sweet potatoes and she is a very messy eater haha. She also knows who mom and dad are and loves when we are both home playing with her. It breaks my heart when I have to leave for work because when I go to give her a kiss goodbye without fail she starts to cry and just wants to be comforted by mom. She is our little princess and we are in love.

4 Months

Growth//
Age: 4 Months [17.5 weeks]
Weight: 10lb 2oz [<1st %]
Height: 22.5in [1st %]
Head: 38.5cm [5th %]

Diapers// We are officially in size 1 diapers finally! although newborns still work. You know that awkward in-between stage.

Clothes// We are again stuck in the awkward stage of Newborns and 0-3 months.. Some of each fit her! haha I know.. 4 months old and just starting to fit into 0-3 months she's a giant.

Sleep// Anywhere from 10-12 hours. We graduated from her rock & play next to mom and dads bed and she now sleeps in her crib like a big girl! I realize I am extremely lucky in this department! Counting my blessings every day.

Personality// Miss T is our happy little girl! She likes to flirt with dad & cuddle with mom. She is extremely smiley in the mornings and remains happy throughout the day as long as she gets her beauty sleep.

Developments// HANDS are the new big thing. She loves to try to fit her entire fist in her mouth and anything that she can get her hands on; blankets, toys, clothes, bottles. She chews on everything and blows bubbles constantly. She recognizes mom and dad and doesn't like when she sees us while being held by someone else. Mirrors are a whole other story though, miss T is starting to recognize herself too but isn't sure how she feels about it. We get half smiles and half cries and a lot of checking herself out when we stand next to a mirror.

Likes// She adores her Lovey (bear & blanket in one), Eating, Talking, Dancing, and of course her hands.

Dislikes// She HATES tummy time, Loud talking, Loud/startling noises, Music, and picture taking, she will be all smiles until you take out your phone or camera, then it's just blank stares.

Misc// Little miss T makes everyone (except mom & dad) work for her affection and she knows it! She is a tease and you can't always get a smile out of her but when you do its the best moment in the world. Doctor has given us the OK to start solids! although he recommends waiting a little longer because of her little size. I don't know how long that is going to last because she is hungry ALL THE TIME. She also got her little ears pierced! ahh! they are adorable. [More of those pics to come].

Pack Family Pictures

Before my parents left on their mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, my entire family came into town for their farewell and we were able to have family pictures taken all together since we have quite a few new additions! You can learn more about our religion and church here. I was so fun to get everyone together for one last hoorah! Laurie Bray has been taking our family pictures for years and has captured many many memories from back when I was a baby, family pictures growing up, my bridals, our wedding, and now our little family's pictures. She is practically part of the family. Check her out here!

I have quite the big family now. It still surprises me every time we all get together. 

Mom + Dad + 5 kids + 5 in-laws + 14 grandchildren = 26 people!!

I sure do love this big crazy family of mine. I am so grateful for my parents, their faith, and their love, and that because of them our family can be together forever.

The original 7 where all this craziness started. I can't believe we are all grown up, married, and have kids! I am 6 years younger then my next oldest sibling so growing up I was like an only child, no joke. It's so nice to now be in the same stage of life with all my siblings even though my little family is just beginning. We may fight and get on each others nerves, even today, but at the end of the day we all love each other and look up to one another.

Briggs Family Pictures

I absolutely fell in love with our sweet photographer when we had our Briggs family pictures done. Check her out here! I highly recommend her, especially for large groups, she has a gift. She caught such a tender moment between Ryan and little miss T that I will cherish forever. We got these taken in Southern Utah on the red rocks that we call home. I am so excited that we have the classic "red rock photos" to have the memories of living here when we go off to grad school and wherever else life takes us.

 

I love that Alisha thought about head shots for all of us. A detail that a lot of times is forgotten about.

The Briggs Family

Ryan's sweet mother had all boys so we are "the daughters she never had".

4 Boys in 3 years. I don't know how Ryan's mom did it. She is wonder-woman. 

Little miss T has a little cousin who is 2 weeks younger then her, although he looks much older haha. It will be so fun to have someone so close to her in age as they grow up. Built in best-friend.

I am in love with this photo! Alisha was able to catch the sweetest moment between little miss T and her daddy. I love these two more then words can say. 

Sweet dreams my sweetheart

Families are Forever

Tenley Blake: Birth Story

March 7, 2016 will forever be one of the greatest days of our lives, the day our sweet little girl came into this world, and it all began very early that morning. 

Our little miss was diagnosed with IUGR [intrauterine growth restriction] and it was decided that I would be induced at 37 weeks if she didn't decide to come earlier then that. Time passed and little miss was in no hurry to get here so I was scheduled to be induced at 12:00am Monday March 7th. Being induced is the best and the worst thing all at the same time. It was so nice to have everything planned out but the fact that my body was not ready to go through the whole birthing process, labor was very long, painful, and rough.

I worked up until the day I delivered, which is something I always joked to people at work about, I just can't believe I was actually able to do so. I worked Saturday night and got off early Sunday morning. Sunday consisted of taking it easy and waiting. A lot of waiting. Midnight came and we were off to have a baby! (with a short pit stop at the gas station to load up on snacks).

I was first started on cytotec because I wasn't dilated or effaced whatsoever. I was given 4 doses and by 10:00am I was only dilated to a 1.5, in a lot of pain and very sick. I begged my OB and the nurses to let me get the epidural but was told that the anesthesiologist didn't like to do it until I was dilated to at least a 3. My OB came in and broke my water to hopefully get things moving along and placed some additional monitors on the her head because I wasn't progressing very fast and they wanted to watch the contractions more closely. After a couple more hours I still had not progressed at all so they convinced the anesthesiologist to place the epidural early. I was so happy I was crying tears of joy. Life was good again. An hour later though the epidural wore off on the right side of my body and I was able to feel the intense contractions again. The anesthesiologist came back in and repositioned the epidural in hopes to fix the problem, but it didn't. An hour later another anesthesiologist came in, took out the epidural and put a new one in. This time it worked and didn't wear off. I was so happy and was finally able to relax! The nurse continued to check me throughout the afternoon. The OB came in around 6:00pm and checked, I was dilated to a 2.5! [Baby Steps]. The doctor told us that it would be a long night and if little miss didn't come by midnight we would go in for C-section. Because of her size they didn't want me to be in labor for more than 24 hours, even if she was looking good. 

Weeks before I had joked to Ryan that if needs be we would be watching the bachelor while I pushed. Luckily for us I was still only dilated to a 2.5 by the time bachelor came on so we watched and relaxed. at 8:45 the nurse came back in to check me and I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. We were hoping that things would move along a little more quickly now. 15 minutes later I felt a lot of pressure and told the nurse that either my catheter was coming out or this baby ready to come. She laughed and said she would check again to ease my mind. She checked and I was dilated to a 10 and she could feel the head!! She was coming! [Guess she just knew I really wanted to finish the bachelor] The nurse yelled to the other staff out in the hall to grab the needed materials and to call the doctor. I was told to cross my legs and not to push. I tried really hard to relax but everything was happening so fast. I kept asking the nurses how many times they had delivered a baby without the doctor because our doctor was a few minutes away, which they had to reassure me that they had and to not worry. They then called in the respiratory therapist and other staff members to help out. My nurse checked me again and shouted out to the nurses that the baby was coming right now. Just then my OB walked through the doors, gowned up and told me to start pushing. 17 minutes of pushing and a total of 21.5 hours of labor later at 9:27pm our little miss Tenley Blake was born weighing 4lb. 15oz. and measuring 18 inches long.

The BEST OB in the entire world! and I saw a number of different OB's throughout my pregnancy because I was considered high risk due to having an IUGR baby. I am so grateful for him and all that he did for us and for bringing our sweet baby girl safely into this world. 

We love you more than you'll ever know our sweet baby girl.


Tenley Blake Briggs
March 7, 2016 at 9:27pm
4 lbs 15 oz & 18 in long

Pink Blush Maternity

I could go on and on about Pink Blush Maternity and their clothing. I am so excited to be teaming up with them to show you their cute collections of maternity wear. This dress is the perfect item to stick in your wardrobe and just in time for spring! The light chiffon material is to die for I just love the colors and details! This will definitely be my go to dress for all things baby showers, date nights, and those days I just feel like getting dressed up.   

Dress: Pink Blush Maternity

Head on over to my Instagram [@ciejae_briggs] for a chance to win a $75 Gift Card!