The Most Delicious Baked Oatmeal!

For this week’s weekly bake I decided to make one of my favorite breakfast recipes. It carries SO MUCH nostalgia for me because they used to serve it at the summer camp I grew up going to. BAKED OATMEAL. 😍

With the corona virus spreading rapidly, everyone’s kids are home from school and many cities are under strict shelter in place orders. I’m sure that many moms and dads are running out of ideas of things to do to keep the kiddos entertained. This recipe is super fun and easy to make. You can whip it up in the morning, or make it ahead to have for breakfast the next day! You can use it as a fun activity to do with your littles and they can help you stir all the ingredients together. It’s very versatile and you can throw chopped fruit into your batter before you bake it, if you'd like. The possibilities are endless. SO. Without further adieu, I give you baked oatmeal.

Ingredients:

-3 cups quick oats
-two eggs beaten
-1 cup packed brown sugar
-1tbsp baking powder
-1tsp ground cinnamon
-1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
-1.5 cups 2% milk

Directions:
1. Mix together milk, butter, eggs, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon.
2. Stir in the quick oats.
3. Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
4. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees
5. Serve warm! You can pour warm milk and maple syrup on top or serve with fruit. You do you!

Please let me know if you make this recipe! I'd love to know if you enjoy it as much as I do. 

xoxo- Rachel

Olivia is ONE! (Late Post)

How did this happen? Didn't I just bring her home? Didn't I just take her to her two week doctor's appointment? Didn't she just have her first bath? When did my baby turn into a toddler right before my eyes? Everyone tells you not to blink, but it's just UNREAL how fast time passes once you have a baby. It's true that the days are long, but the years are so painfully short.

When we brought Olivia home, I had some postpartum depression. I was usually okay during the day, but at night I would spiral. I was very doom and gloom. "I'll never be able to ride in Gil's convertible again because it's a two-seater.", "I'll never be able to go get late night tacos with my friends.", "I'll never be able to be away from her because I'm breastfeeding." and I would cry. It really felt like we would never find our new normal. But here we are! With a little help from Zoloft and a lot of practice, I’m proud of the mom I’ve become. I still mess up and get frustrate, I still have mom guilt and I fail her every day, but I love Olivia more than life itself.

She is so amazing and learning so incredibly quickly! She started walking at 11 months and now she is running around and getting into all kinds of stuff she isn’t supposed to. She recognizes songs and starts trying to sing along. She can kiss, hug and rock her babies and can point out noses, mouths and toes. She's also starting to learn animal sounds like "woof", "quack" and "ooh-ooh ah-ah". Gosh, she's just so smart and it's my greatest joy to watch her grow into a sweet little girl. Looking forward to a million more birthday celebrations with you, Livie-Lou!

xoxo- Rachel