What's Up Wednesday?

Ugh today is off to an early start... I hate early starts, especially after you stay up too late watching the Jays game!! At least they won!

Ems woke up just after 5 AM and Noah must have heard Mike go up to get her, because he was stirring since and decided he would get up at 6:30. I know that's the normal for some of you, but not for us and it really proves for a long day with a tired boy! Luckily Em went right back to sleep after some milk! 

Crazy to think today is her half birthday! 6 months old!! Where the heck did time go?? We are having a mini celebration with Mike's parents and instead of making cake - which Noah is insisting, we are going to make some chocolate chip quick bread instead! I am also going to try my new recipe of the week tonight. I almost forgot the challenge I made for myself to try a new recipe, so I will be trying this glaze tonight:

Pineapple Honey Glaze:

PIN

This morning we have our first library program of the season. We really do love the program, but I don't have high hopes of it going smoothly because of how early Noah woke up! But we will go and we will try! 

Let's talk Luke Bryan - I am officially going to his concert again with my sister! This will be the same venue we went to last October for him in Detroit. Granted I hate the Detroit venue and our seats are not as close as our last concert, I know it will be amazing and it's his close out concert for his tour! I really didn't think it would work, but the concert is on a Saturday, so M will be home to watch the kiddos. The part I was struggling with was that we stay over night, but it's only one night and she sleeps over night anyways for the most part. 

Something tells me October is going to fly by, hopefully not as quick as September did! The weekdays all have something on them, aside from Friday's and every other Tuesday. Luckily our weekends are not too bad though. 

Oh and my hair straightener died yesterday after straightening half of my head... Yes half... I quickly learned why I kept my old one!! 

What's up on your Wednesday? 

Menu Monday

I'm saving my weekend rewind for tomorrow, so I can properly document Emilya's baptism, but it was an amazing day we had celebrating our little girl!!

Instead, we are coming into fall - wait, we are in fall!! Menu planning is pretty much NOT happening and just as the fall rush is about to kick in, we need to get on track! The days are only getting shorter and we need more time in the evening as a family instead of cooking in a rush. 

We get sick of the same quick meals over and over, so I have decided we are going to try to cook one new recipe a week! Pinterest is amazing thing, along with a few great you-tubers! It's about time we start finding some new favorites! 

To kick this off, we are going to try an easy Chicken Parmesan tonight!! I'm pretty excited about it. We have some left over pasta salad left over that I will pair it with and that will be supper tonight!! I will share the link below:

http://chefsavvy.com/recipes/the-best-chicken-parmesan/

I will try to do a recipe share post each week, or at least ever couple of weeks with a few of our favorites as they come up!! 

Wish us luck!! 

Recipe Share/Thursday Things

Look at me go... Yesterday was a busy day!!

Update on Dad's health:

They did the angiogram yesterday and all was well. No repairs were necessary, so that ruled out any blockages! So today he will like have an Electrophysiology Study done, to figure out where the electrical problem is exactly. 

We found out my cousin is expecting 2 weeks ahead of me! 

Noah had a great time at the library and actually participated in almost all of it without being distracted or running around. It was good that his friend G was there to help show him what he should be doing! We came home, had lunch and before I knew it was nap time! My favorite part of the day this week, as I have been napping too!! 

We went to the post office and stopped for a play with the neighbour behind us and ran into J and the kids too! Noah loved going for a ride with G:

Gotta love Noah's squint, but his hat bothered the bruise on his head and yes, he is sporting 2 black eyes! Like I said he hit his head hard on Sunday that more bruising is still coming out! Poor guy! 

We grabbed the mail, where we found Noah's new placemat from Shutterfly! Love how it turned out!! 

We played at the park and then headed home to make dinner! As I mentioned Monday we were trying a new recipe tonight and it did not disappoint! While I was making dinner, Noah was trying to get Gracie's dinner ready? Or maybe he just dumped the bowl... Definitely the latter... Trouble! 

He is always a stinker when it comes to me getting anything done!! 

Anyways back to dinner, everyone loved it and you bet I will be making it again!! I didn't follow the recipe on Pinterest after all. Here is what I did do:

Sloppy Joe Casserole:

1 pound of extra lean ground beef

1 packet of club house sloppy joe powder mix

1 1/2 cups of water

1 can of tomato paste

2 cups of penne noodles

2 cups of medium cheddar cheese

I cooked the beef until no longer pink. While cooking the meet, I boiled water to cook the noodles in. I added the tomato paste to the beef, mixed the sloppy joe powder in the 1.5 cups of water and then poured it in with the beef. I added the pasta to the boiling water and cooked for 11 minutes and brought the meat mixture to a boil on high heat and then turned it down to medium to keep a steady boil, stirring often for about 10 minutes. They both finished at the same time, which was coincidental! 

I strained the noodles and poured them into the meet mixture, giving it a good stir to mix it evenly. I added 3/4 cup of cheese, stirring it in as well and then poured the mixture into a casserole dish. I topped the dish with cheese and served! 

Since someone refuses to wear a bib lately, I knew tonight's dinner would be messy, so shirtless he went!

He had it in his hair, all over his face, arms and chest! 

It was very filling, but a big hit and you bet it will taste good for left overs too! 

After Noah went to bed, I worked on N's newborn photos for a bit and then went to bed myself! 

Hello Monday!

We are off to an early start around these parts since a certain little man has decided 6:30 is the new 8 AM for the last few days! And of course it's the last few days that I have actually had to get up too. Our weekend was pretty low key!

I am actually struggling to remember what we did Friday night, one thing I'm sure is that I was in bed early haha. Real exciting times over here.

Saturday morning Noah went with M to run errands and to visit my Dad in the hospital. While I stayed home and folded baskets of laundry (we were about 2 months behind - soo embarrassing) while getting caught up on Kendra On Top on the box and hanging out with our fur babies who were all demanding extra attention! 

Check out Gracie's new look:

Reminds me of when she was a puppy!! Soo fluffy and cute! She had a great spa morning on Friday! 

And these two boys were up to no good as usual:

Once the boys got home and Noah settled for his nap, I headed into the hospital to hang out with Dad
for the afternoon! M ended up making plans to go for dinner with his friend and thier family to help
give into my Wonton Nacho craving! We ordered just appetizers which of course were not healthy at all, but soo yummy! I should be good for a while now! Noah had pizza and ice cream for dessert- which he was a big fan of:

After dinner I ran my left overs up to the hospital and ended up visiting for a bit longer - missing bedtime for Noah, which of course I hate, but luckily it doesn't happen very often. I went to bed before 10! That was a smart move because this little monkey woke up at 6:30 again! Such a stinker and M was gone early to help set up for the fireman's breakfast so you bet I was up just as early. He insisted on having his morning bottle with Gracie:

We headed for breakfast around 9 AM, which Noah sure enjoyed, but really he enjoyed sitting in ALL of the fire trucks instead of just one! 

Our little fire fighter:

Noah went down for a morning nap because he was up early, so I tackled putting away some of that dreaded laundry! M came home at noon, so I could take lunch up to Dad. I got home just after 2, had a quick nap and then back to putting away laundry. I'm happy to announce it is all put away and the mudroom floor was visible for a bit before I had M start bringing down boxes of baby clothes from the spare room that I plan to sort through this week. 

M and Noah headed outside to cut the grass while ribs were cooking in the oven! Noah did a nasty 

face plant hitting his head on M's running board on the truck, giving himself a giant goose egg! Poor guy! We watched Heartland while eating dinner, which is something we have always done when it's on!

Bedtime wasn't far behind for this little guy: 

After he went to bed, I ran into town to grab some groceries with J and got home just in time to finally order bedding for Noah's big boy room!! I of course had to order from the U.S., which sucks with the dollar, but I got a great deal and my Dad is willing to pick it up for me from the PO box, so it was meant to be! I think the colors will be perfect! It's just what I think I am looking for! 

Today a morning nap will be on the agenda today, as well as a nice walk, as it's supposed to be half decent today and not freezing cold like all weekend! I will also be awaiting my call from my sister or Dad once the doctor comes into see him to conference me in and hear the plan. 

And to start off a new thing here on the blog, as I love reading what others are doing as far as weekly menus go, here is our menu plan for the week!

Meal Plan Monday:

Sunday: Ribs and Italian Garden Salad

Monday: Easy Mac and Cheese - we tried this recipe two weeks ago and loved it and it really was easy

Tuesday: Chicken quesadillas 

Wednesday: Sloppy Joe Casserole, but instead of putting it on potatoes, I will be trying it with pasta

Thursday: Homemade Pizzas 

Friday: Chicken Fingers and French fries

Hey Friday!!

Yay for no ball Friday!! Apparently our game was cancelled for tonight, which makes me kind of happy!! Not that we have plans or anything exciting going on and I do enjoy the games, but sometimes it's just nice to be home on a Friday night!!

Today I am thinking of my niece Hannah, who is having surgery on both her eyes this morning!! Praying for an easy surgery and fast recovery!! 

It's 8:50 AM as I write this post and Noah is still sleeping!! 

I'm trying a new drink recipe!! I am finally getting around to trying the Passion Tea Lemonade that mimics Starbucks!! I finally found passion tea last night - actually that's a lie, Sarah found it during our late night post girls night Walmart trip! 

Last night was girls night! I was soo disappointed that they took my drink off the menu!! I also was impressed with drink I picked... Some peach lemonade that wasn't anything special! I did finally try a 4 berry mojito which I quite liked! 

On Wednessay I decided to try my hand at some outfit pics with my selfie stick... I definetely need some work at it, but here are Wednesday and Thursday's outfits for both Noah and I! 

Yes, I cringe, the crocs left the house! I bought them for playing in the back yard - so much easier! But I am not a fan. I will say though, that they do make life easier though, so I am sure it will happen again!!

No guarantees I will get better.. I think because I am soo tall, in order to get my whole self in, my arm has to be soo high!! 

Today I have a few more groceries to grab, which I will be doing at just one store with Noah - thanks to ladies being willing to stop at Walmart last night!! Shopping with a toddler at this stage is tricky! All he wants to do is push the cart or climb out! So I'm hoping it will quick and then we have to stop and grab the sweet deal I grabbed off kijiji for 5 sleep sacks (4 of which are halo brand in new condition with feet) for $45!! A couple of them are toddler size, but he will grow into them! I love sleep sacks, especially now that we are in two piece pjs now, just gives me the piece of mind that he is covered and warm enough! 

Update on Gracie - she is still not quite herself, a few more days of antibiotics left. She is refusing to eat the wet food now to make matters more difficult, but we must be getting just enough in her to stop the pills from reacting with her tummy because she has vomited for a few days (thank God!!) Her infection site looks much better though! Not sure if she's just being stubborn, but she didn't even want to go for a walk last night! Hopefully her mood lightens up soon! 

This weekend I have N's baby shower and then potential lake day on Sunday!!

Well this post is wrapping up now because it is 9:15 and my kid just sat up!! Time to go get the little. Squish!! 

Monday Already??

Clearly this week is going to zoom right on by while I'm coping with Noah turning one THIS weekend!! This seems like such a big deal to me and I can't even pretend to not be a little sad about it, although I am super happy at the same time! He seriously is just the best thing that has happened to Mike and I - we are soo blessed!!

So this week we will be party prepping and getting ready for Noah's big day!! Much like we did this past weekend!

Friday night was low key. We went into town to pick up my car (oil change) and grabbed some groceries and dinner!! We came home, ate and then hung out!

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast and then we braved Costco on a weekend! It's always dangerous when M comes... We spent too much money, but got most of the things I needed for the party, a few extras,  aside from produce, which I will get later this week somehow! Noah had some crazy hair going on while we ate out for lunch!

Saturday afternoon M and I cleaned out behind the bar while Noah napped and then I decided to try a little Pinterest project! We all know how I love Kelsey's spinach dip, so when I saw a recipe on Pinterest that said it tasted just like it, I had to try it! I followed the recipe up until it called for a tablespoon of red bell pepper, well I assumed this was a spice... And couldn't find it at the grocery store, turns t they meant fresh! Oops!! My bad! So our recipe didn't have this! I also forgot to put the cayenne pepper under the cheese on top.

But it was soo yummy!!! We will totally make this more often!! It was also soo easy to make!!

Gracie was tuckered out after her walk with Daddy and Lily while I put Noah down. Up next was the Dirty 30 work out! I actually really enjoy that one!! We have also gone back to following the meal plan instead of calorie counting because we weren't dropping the weight like we expected to that first week of round 2! 

After our work out I watched the movie The Best Of Me, which is another movie based off of a Nicholas Sparks book. I love all his movies! This one was good too and without spoiling the ending completely, I wasn't expecting that ending!! 

Sunday morning Noah woke us at 5:30 with much surprise to our eyes, he was sitting there looking at us (through the monitor)! Sitting being the biggest shock! He just learned to sit up on his own Friday but we still weren't expecting to see him sitting up in his crib!! Little bum! He had his bottle and went back to bed until 8 and I slept in until 9! 

We met C and S for breakfast at 10 and had a nice catch up! Then we worked away at laundry! Grandma and Grandpa popped in for a visit with Noah before his afternoon nap and they had fun playing! 

It was a nice low key day!! We finished up the night with yoga and then I watched the Grammy's!! 

Loved Taylor Swifts dress! Loved Gwen Stefani and Adam Levines performance!! I was happy to see Sam Smith win and of course Beyoncé!! I was happy to see Miranda Lambert win best country album! I don't get the Kayne West interuption... 

{ What I am Loving }

A rainy Wednesday it is, but I am well rested because the little Mr. slept all night last night!! Which tops todays list of the things I am loving!!

- I love that some days my cheeks actually hurt from smiling soo much. Who knew that this little boy could cause soo much joy. I am the happiest I have been in a loooong time!

- I love that the dogs are starting to take more interest in Noah during mat time and the cats are loving him more too. Including Jazz - who gets kicked constantly because she likes to sit beside him and purr. Clearly her happy pills are working.

- I love this pic of Gracie from yesterday morning:

- I am loving white chocolate brownies. I had one at Moxie's on the weekend for the first time and now I want more! I found this recipe on Pinterest and might have to try it!

- I am struggling with wearing my hair down lately because I get annoyed with it when nursing, so I have been trying to find cute ways to tie it back. I came across this one and I love it!

PIN

- I am loving that the first ball game of the season is Friday!! 

- I love that the results of my x-ray have finally showed that my ankle fracture has healed. It doesn't explain the pain or the swelling and bruising, but I at least know I won't sustain more damage by exercising again. I will just have to deal with it and push on!

- I think Noah and I are going to have to get crafting and make this for his nursery:

PIN

I have never made my own canvas art! Anyone have any tips?

- I would also love to make these:

PIN

But I think I will have to then make a new gallery wall to showcase them, which I am considering doing on my staircase going upstairs like this one:

PIN

- I am loving the duet by Blake Shelton and Shakira called Medicine:

I hope everyone is having a great day, we are off to the vet today for shots and blood work.

What I Am Loving - Spring Edition

I can't even remember the last time I shared a few of my current loves!!

I am definitely loving these two:

And of course I love being able to finally get down on the ground to snuggle with these two as well!!

Spring has finally sprung and I am loving this weather!! Instead of having a rainy day like they forecasted yesterday, it was sunny!! Windy, but sunny. So we managed to sneak in a walk when M got home from work before his ball meeting! Little man has hit his 6 week growth spurt! All he wants to do is eat!! Glad I read THIS article on this, because I was definitely wondering what I was doing wrong or if my supply was bad!! But nope, just a growing man on my hands. Actually that blog is very informative!

I am loving the "dadda-roo" because it has helped get us through these times, as when I am holding Noah, he thinks it is time to eat, so the mama-roo can move him around, without me having to be involved. Worth every penny!!!

Although my wardrobe is limited right now, I can't help but to dream about what could be in my closet!! I'm stuck between my pre-weight loss and post-weight loss clothes and I really don't want to buy anything new, although I may not have a choice. 

I think I might try making this! I love Starbucks Passion Tea Lemonade!!

PIN

On to what I wish was in my closet: 

PIN

and this I NEED to find!! Love it!!

PIN

You may notice a trend - nursing friendly!! haha!

I am hoping the Easter Bunny will bring me this perfume:

PIN

I cannot even remember the last time I found an actual perfume I love. Of course I wear Victoria Secret body spray like its going out of style, but an actual perfume. If you haven't smelt it, go find a store that carries it - you won't regret it!

Love this quote!! It is soo very true for M and I:

PIN

I am thinking this might be my next rice krispie recipe to try:

PIN

Strawberry Shortcake Rice Krispies!! Yum!

And we are out of time - hungry baby awaits!!