Yesterday, I spent most of the day sick. I don't know if it's allergies or a cold or what, but I have the ENT (eyes, nose and throat) junk. Watery eyes, stuffy nose and sore throat. Hoping this goes away soon.

After taking a one-hour turned four-hour nap (whoops!), I woke up in a hurry FIRST to check on my baby (who was peacefully still sleeping as well, whew!) and second, to get dinner ready. I had planned on making my Wednesday ritual - Crockpot Potato Soup and was really looking forward to it. But since I overslept, I threw everything in a pot on the stove and tried boiling it for an hour.

30 minutes later I smell something burning. Let's just say... that didn't work. Thankfully I had leftovers in the fridge to warm up.

Only problem was I had already taken the cream cheese I was planning to use for the soup out of the package, placed it in a bowl and softened it in the microwave. So I quickly googled cream cheese desserts to find a solution. No way was I going to let it go to waste! (And ok, maybe I was craving a cream cheese filled dessert, just a little bit)

I found this one.  And thankfully, I had all the ingredients!

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

You will need: 13 x 9 cake pan

For the filling:

Two 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened (light or regular) ½ cup sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg

For the cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 4 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup sour cream (light or regular)

For the streusel topping:

¼ cup sugar ¼ cup flour 3 tablespoons butter, chilled and cubed

For the glaze:

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar 1 ½ teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease/flour or spray a 9 x 13 cake pan. Set aside.

Make the filling:  In a small bowl use an electric mixer to mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla on medium-low speed until creamy.  Set aside for the filling.  

Make the cake batter:  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar on medium-low speed. Add eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract. Slowly pour in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream until it is all combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared cake pan with a spatula.  Spread the cream cheese filling evenly on top. Top with remaining cake batter and smooth with a spatula.  Using a butter knife, gently swirl in the batter. (The batter will be a little stiff, this is normal. Dollop the batter on top of the cream cheese layer and lightly spread together with spatula)

Make the topping:  Add the sugar, flour and chilled butter in a small bowl.  Stir using a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle the streusel on top of cake batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until slightly golden on the top. Cool for 5 minutes.

To make the glaze:  In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar and milk until creamy.  Drizzle over cake.

And there you have it!

A yummy cream cheese coffee cake.

This would go great with a bowl of fruit in the morning or a warm cup of coffee in the evening. Or in my case, with a bottle of water and some Emergen-C. :)

Hope you enjoy, friends!

I got to soak up some time with my two favorite boys this weekend!

Friday night we tried out a new Mediterranean place downtown. It was Josh and I's "date night." Except it ended up being us trying to keep Micah occupied the entire dinner, while we made uncomfortable glances at each other whenever he would let out a nice, loud shrill! We probably won't be attempting that again any time soon. Ha. But the food was A+ (seriously, one of the best Greek places we've been to!)

Saturday morning we enjoyed the beautiful weather and had a picnic at the park. It was so relaxing. I just love being together as a family of three. We don't have to be doing anything. Just sitting there together outside on a blanket, with no distractions, eating our sandwiches, was the best part of that day for me. :)

Today, we're back to our routine. We are currently battling teething at the moment. His first little bottom tooth poked through this weekend (yay!!) and I think the other one is on the horizon. He has cried some tears of pain today. Poor boy. Teething tablets and lots of snuggles are the cure. (I'm gonna go ahead and get back to that!)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

The past 6 months have been a blur, but I think I am finally emerging from the haze a little bit.

I finally have somewhat of a predictable schedule with Micah.

He goes to sleep around the same time every night and wakes up around the same time every morning, like clockwork. Every now and then I may get a wake up call around 1am. But most of the time, he'll fall right back to sleep by the time I get up to check on him.

And our days are becoming more fluid. I can anticipate naps. When he's ready to eat baby food. When he needs to nurse. And for me personally, I go to the gym twice a week. Have a weekly bible study with other moms. I'm teaching guitar lessons.

And hold your breath friends.... I just started a cleaning schedule.

A routine. We have a routine. And it only took me half a year to get here!

And I say all that, not to boast or give the allusion that I have it all together. Because the truth is I still feel like a child myself, learning right along with Micah. Sometimes I look at him and just say, "Thanks buddy, for making me a mommy." And in my heart I whisper to God, "Please help me know how to do this."

And in so many ways, He has. And I finally feel like I am finding perspective on this whole mothering blessing.

If there is anything that I can see clearly now looking back on these past 6 months, it's that everything comes with time. Don't rush. Enjoy the moment. Embrace every new milestone. But don't be surprised if you're actually sad when it comes.

"They grow so quickly," was the number one thing we heard when Micah was born. And now it's the number one thing I find myself saying to most new mothers. Because it's true.