Fun Weekend!

What a fun weekend we had! I was on cloud 9 spending time with both of my boys!

Friday night I went to the store and came home and fixed fajitas and cheesy dip for dinner! Our favorite.

 After dinner Brent went to a friends house to help him with his car for a while and Luke and I did bath time and got ready for bed. It was good to be home after a long week.

Saturday morning I got up and headed to Barre class. It was rainy and yucky and I really wanted to sleep in but I got up and went!(so very proud of myself :) It was a small class (probably because of the weather) but so SO good. I am loving how my body is shaping up! Hello swimsuit season :)

When I got home I made up some leftovers for lunch then did absolutely nothing the rest of the day. It was awesome! We watched movies, I took a nap, then we went to dinner at Joe's Pizza with some friends. After dinner Brent and I got caught up on Grey's Anatomy that we have missed for a month now! It was a great day!

 Sunday we got up and around and headed to Rogers to spend the day! We didn't have any agenda except to eat at On the Border! My very most favorite place. It was Luke's first time and he didn't seem to impressed. lol! And by happy accident I remembered it was Cinco de Mayo!

                                                                  My loves



                                                  The yummiest cheese dip!

After lunch we went over to Andy's Ice cream! We sure do love that place too! They have one in Branson that we always walk to while we are there, that's where we got hooked on Andy's :)

After ice cream we headed to Cabelas. It was cool seeing all the animals and Luke loved the fish. I couldn't believe how lifelike they can make the trees!

Cat jumping out of a tree!

We also headed over to the outside mall for a bit. Luke got his first taste of Build a Bear and I really want to take him back so we can build one. Brent wasn't much into that lol. We hit up the candy store and I got to spend some time in Pottery Barn.

We headed home around 3ish and I went to Wally World for some stuff we needed for the week.

After our heavy mexican meal we decided on grilled chicken salads for dinner.

Salad before the chicken,cheese, croutons, and dressing :)

 I'm not sure why I felt the need to take pictures of what I ate all weekend! ha!

Love good weekends like these. Nothing to do, nowhere much to go just hanging out with those who mean the most to me.



Menu Monday

I did pretty well with my dinner makings last week! We didn't eat out any during the week except Friday which I knew would happen so I moved that to Sunday. I didn't necessarily stick to the days of the week for which food so I won't assign them like that anymore and that is just fine. So far easy peasy and not spending money though the week when we have food at home has been wonderful!

So on to this week!

Lemon Chicken in the crock pot
Creamy Pasta
Mushroom Tacos
Baked BBQ Chicken and Brussells
Beef and Broccoli in the crock pot

Menu Monday!

I took the summer off from cooking that is no secret but with the fall season and my new kitchen I am so excited to get in the groove again!

My plan is to get everything planned out and written down on Friday. Recipes of what we are having on which days and my grocery list. Then Sunday I will try and do my grocery shopping but it may have to be done on Monday that will just depend on the week.

Every Monday I will post what we are having for the week.

Sounds fun right?! Ha!

I am also going to try and do healthier meals, I don't want to do 'diet' food but do want to try and cut fat where I can and incorporate much more veggies but still do things that Luke will eat. With the holidays coming up we will have our fair share of junk food so if I can keep our day to day better I want to. Also I want to try at least one crock pot recipe a week and one new recipe a week. And Mondays I want to dedicate 'meatless'.

Ok here it goes......

Monday - Margarita Pizza w/ salad

Tuesday - Turkey Chili w/ lotsa veggies

Wednesday - Pork Loin in the crock pot w/ broccoli

Thursday - Fajitas

Friday - Pepperoni Pasta

Saturday we most likely always have plans to eat else where and sometimes Fridays too. So if we don't eat at home on Friday I will move that meal to Sunday. I'm leaving the weekends very flexible especially around this time of year :)

So thats it! Wish me luck ;)

Weekend Recap!

We had a very fun and full weekend this week but somehow I still feel like I got to relax maybe it's the time change? Not sure but it was pretty good!

Friday night Brent, Lucas and I went to eat a late dinner at Outback and went and did a little Christmas shopping. It was fun and knocked out a few more gifts!

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and went to pick Ashley and Ethan up to head to the Tulsa Zoo! The boys were very excited when we told them we were almost there! ha!




It was much more chilly in Tulsa than it was at home that morning.



We ended up riding the train around the park and then headed to the mall!



We went to the Disney store after we grabbed some lunch, the boys had a blast in there! So funny! I think we stayed in there for an hour looking at everything..twice ;)
I think Lucas thought it was the coolest place on earth! I told Brent he needs to take him to a Disney store really soon because it is too fun!




We couldn't leave without getting some Dippin Dots!





We had such a good time with Ashley and Ethan I just love that our boys are so close we will have to do this again soon!

We got home Saturday around 5 and stayed in for the night, I made another batch of applesauce, Lucas loves it and I pack it in his lunch about everyday! I jokingly put on my Facebook status that night that in my last life I must have been a Mott's employee! ha! It's just so neat to me to take a pile of apples and turn them into something so good! Not to mention cooking apples with a cinnamon stick makes my house smell like a dream!

I also made home made cinnamon rolls but not just any cinnamon rolls Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls! I was so SO excited to try these! A lady from work got to go to a luncheon and meet Ree "The Pioneer Woman" and brought her book back for all of us here to look at! ha! I had looked up the recipe for the cinnamon rolls back before Easter but Brent talked me out of making them, but when I saw the recipe in her book I got the nerve to just go for it!
And so I did!
I woke up early-ish on Sunday put in my Twilight soundtrack and went to work. I had the time of my life! I'm really getting into this whole cooking thing.



My kitchen was a huge mess, flour everywhere but I didn't care I can't believe I did it! And they turned out so yummy!!



After 9 cups of flour, half a bag of sugar, half a shaker of cinnamon, and a whole bag of powdered sugar you get these beauties! 8 tins of 7 or 8 rolls in each! I am so proud!

I will be making these for Christmas gifts for some lucky friends ;)

Sunday afternoon we loaded up the wagon and headed down the street to a clearing behind some houses in our neighborhood to "practice" taking some family pictures. That sounds so funny but if you have never done it I guess that's what works! I really want to get a good one for our Christmas card this year so we needed to figure out all the "stuff" that goes along with the tripod and camera.

Here are a few shots. We took close to 100!

Sunday evening we headed to town to run an errand and ate at Scholosky's for dinner.

Nice fall weekend! Already ready for the next one ;)

Life as We know it! Part 1....

* kinda using a post I saw on Desiree's blog but doing it my own way ;)

The past few weeks into months our lifestyle has changed and I just want to remember when this happened so I wanted to post.
And to anyone who thinks they can't, trust me YOU CAN!!

We have changed our way of eating around my place, I have posted bits and pieces here and there on some posts but I want to tell all the deets ;)
About a 6ish weeks ago I got the idea to take the majority of "fake" sugar from Luke's diet, I thought it would help him settle down at night and around the same time Brent said he wanted to drop some major pounds, he still had most of weight he gained when I was pregnant with Lucas. I also got to thinking I should really get back to eating like I used to, I am talking about portion size. I too wanted to get some pounds off my stomach to help with my baby pooch. I could loose 10 pounds and get back to about where I was when I got pregnant. That I would be over the moon about I don't need a perfect body anymore I have perfect baby instead, great trade off if you ask me.

So that's how we came about to changing our eating ways. I will say before "the change" we were a junk food family. We ate out a lot, fast food at least twice a week, candy for all of us almost daily, ice cream after dinner every night unless we had cake, stick of butter to make every meal, no fresh veggies- ever, and I could go on and on. We were living off junk!!

I knew I wanted to change but didn't know how so when Brent went on a "diet" we all kinda did. But I don't want it to be a diet I want it to be lifestyle change of eating better, for the long run so we just dove into it and I can say it has been so good for us, for Lucas, for our future! We are learning as we go that's for sure but every week it has gotten easier for me to fix meals and find snacks, I feel like a changed woman.

First things first, we had stopped buying pop to drink at home a while back and only drinking some maybe if we go out to eat and we had started using ground turkey instead of hamburger about a year ago so I will say those were the first things. Next thing was a big one for Brent not eating out everyday at lunch time, taking his lunch -a turkey sandwich on wheat bread. Or when he does go out for lunch he has been getting a grilled chicken salad. I have been eating better and smaller at lunch too. And I've had to learn about alternative snacks and dinners and learning that everything is not going to taste the same. I have learned to look at labels and buy fresh and I am learning recipes that will become our new family favorites instead of my 1000 calorie serving of "Mexican Surprise". We have totally cut out deserts and on Sunday's we have been going and getting frozen yogurt for our treat, and we have survived! Another big one for Brent is not adding salt to things and I have cut out adding salt while cooking.
Lucas has done very well with this change also, no he isn't going to bed any earlier but I see him eating a lot better and enjoying it! He is only getting 4 ounces of juice a day and around 16 ounces of milk but after school he only gets water, and no sugary snacks at all anymore. His snacks now are fresh apples, fresh peaches, pretzels, popcorn, cheese and wheat thins, peanut butter crackers, and yogurt; and he loves it! I'm been giving him a fig newton for using his potty instead of m&ms or fruit snacks and he is just as excited! No I am not going to turn into the parent that never lets my kids have candy or sweets or go to McDonald's but I think I want those to be treat instead of the every day.
Brent is down 13 pounds and I am down 5 and I honestly don't even feel like I have been deprived of anything it's just portion control and smarter choices.
Some of the things we have enjoyed thus far:

Green beans, onions and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and soy sauce.
We do the same thing with asparagus, Lucas eats it too!
Baked sweet potato fries with honey to dip them in.
Pork roast in the crock pot with pickled banana peppers, cook for 6 hours. (almost no calories and gluten free!)
Then the next night have pulled pork sandwiches on wheat buns and Dijon mustard instead of BBQ sauce (this is a hard one for me but Brent eats his this way)
Hamburger Helper made with ground turkey and almond milk.
We have also been drinking un-sweet tea with sweet n low and crystal light.
A snack I am loving is rosemary and olive oil Triscuts with salsa on top (I get the salsa at Sam's, its fresh and so so yummy and 5 calories a tablespoon full)
A few pretzels dipped in Nutella for my chocolate craving.

Another very useful tip I have found is buying a few snacks you would normally eat and separating them out into 100 calorie baggies. I have done this with vanilla wafers, chocolate stripe cookies, and pretzel m&ms. Because lets face it some days are harder than others but if you just eat what's in the baggie you won't have the guilt.

We have had some complete dinner fails but we are learning and I am convinced we are on the right track! I want us all to have a happy and healthy future!


Part 2 tomorrow will be about coupon-ing!

Tidbits for Thursday!

• I am in such a blogging slump right now, we've had a lot going on I don't know why I haven't felt like writing it down.




• I have really jumped on the coupon-ing band wagon lately! I am having so much fun with it too! I am going to keep track of my spendings at the grocery store so I can see how much I am saving a month!




• We are still on board with our healthy eating, Brent is down 10 pounds and I am down 6 as of yesterday! I have started substituting almond milk for regular milk when cooking it's cuts the calories like you wouldn't believe! But oddly enough it makes things spicier, a little strange but I can handle that! I also made us up some home made 100 calorie packs! ha! For 100 calories you can have 2 Kebler Fudge Striped cookies or 6 Kebler Vanilla Wafers (both bought with coupons! yes!)

• Speaking of healthy eating this is not on the plan but I'm not looking to loose the weight Brent is so I still have treats! ha! Starbucks Via sounded like a great alternative to a frappe in the morning but it didn't taste that good to me, it was really strong, maybe next time I will add more water and try it iced.....

• I also got my corrected Erin Condren planner this week! They messed up my first one and I was pretty aggravated but they fixed and shipped the new one right away so I was happy again! I am loving this thing!! The only thing I think will start to bother me is how heavy it is but maybe (hopefully) I will get used to it.

• I've done well with not spending any un-necessary money. I went to the Kids Sale last Saturday with $50 and only ended up spending $37.50. I think I am really teaching my-self not to spend money. The only thing that comes to mind that I bought and we didn't need was a glass container at Wal-Mart (have you seen those Versa Glass containers from Zip-Lock? Pretty neat!) but I will say I had a coupon......ha! So as of today I have put $531 into our savings this month alone! The month is half way over and I am over half way to my goal! I will say I have a running list of what I "need" to get come October but it's not as big as you would think it would be, I have on there today -Luke jeans, hand soap and candles from Bath and Body, and a shirt for myself.

• Another thing I will be spending money on in October is getting my hair lightened up! I've already made the appointment for October 3rd and I am so so excited!!

• Brent and I have decided that next year about the first of September we are going to go to go on vacation to the beach! We don't know which one yet but I can't wait!! I know it's a year away but I don't care I am already looking forward to it!

• We have a full weekend coming up that I am ready for too!

Party Time!

A food Party that is!

Friday night I hosted a Tastefully Simple party at my house and it was so much fun! I love having people over and using all my fun dishes! And the food was so yummy as always!



A few of the dips we tried.

The best beer bread ever!

Everyone's Favorite! It is served with "Twisty Grahams" a graham cracker pretzel, so so good!

I really enjoyed everyone who came! I had a small group but I think everyone had a great time! Including the 2 year olds and the dogs! Only at my house ;)

I can't wait for Kristin's and Miranda's Parties in the next month!

Had to post this:

I am making my friend's little girl a dress for her shower and I am so excited! I worked on the bow to match on Saturday and it is done! So now I have to start on the dress, hopefully I can get it done this week/weekend!

My very first bow :)

SUYL - What do you feed your kids?

Over at Kelly's Korner she is doing Show Us Your Life Fridays and today is What do you feed your kids? I thought I'd join in so I could document what Luke is eating these days.

Lucas is getting to be a picky eater here lately which I don't really like :) but he eats more than some kids I know. His absolute favorite thing right now is peaches, he loves those little cups of peaches and eats at least one a day!

Lucas and Daddy also eat an apple together after dinner every night, he loves apples too!

Meats are something we struggle with! He will eat chicken nuggets... sometimes and he will eat a "burder"(hamburger)....sometimes we just never know. The one meat I can get him to eat all the time is his turkey lunch meat. I know probably not the best option but at least he's eating something!

And of course like his mommy he is a candy eater! I craved and ate candy the entire time I was pregnant and he loves it to this day! Chocolate candy, fruity candy, it doesn't matter we both love it! I limit our his candy intake pretty well but it was hard around the holidays and I'm expecting it will be hard with Valentines Day approaching!

(Lucas at 9 months)

Some other things he likes- yogurt, applesauce, HOMEMADE mac and cheese, rice-but not Mexican, loves milk and juice and water even, plain bread, green beans- but only if mommy makes them :), crackers, and most cookies, french fries and tater tots, ice cream, bananas, some cereals.

Linking to Kelly's Korner