Bumpdate: 14

Picture for Shannon :)

I look like I'm concentrating really hard.

Little bump in front w/lots of layers

Total Weigh Gain: 4lbs. Still saddened by this. Definitely have been watching everything I eat this week. Minus a few girl scout cookies...oops

How big is baby? A nectarine!

Maternity Clothes: Nope, just regular clothes. I did wear my Bellaband yesterday. One pair of dress pants hurt when I sit and I had a lot of conferences to do in the afternoon with the kiddos so I thought I'd try it. Overall it worked out okay. Happy to wear my regular comfortable pants today.

Stretch Marks: None yet

Sleep: I went from insomnia to a little sleep to now where I can't wake up!

Best moment of the week? My sister and my aunt (uncle and cousin)  getting us a baby outfit. Duckies and college onsie!

Movement: Nothing yet! 

Food cravings: Nothing in particular. I've been starving like all the time the last few days. But over the weekend I had to force myself to eat. Not sure how that all works out.

Food aversions: Not much, but I have a hard time eating out certain places. Thankfully I've been on a cooking craze!!

Labor signs: None, thank goodness!

Belly button in or out? In! I hope it stays this way. It freaks me out when they pop...which means it probably will.

What I miss: Nothing!

What I'm looking forward to: Gender reveal!!

Milestones: Everything become more real. My students asking me about the baby. I also think Oliver is realizing something is going on. He's been so clingy to me and wants to be on top of me. He's also been sad which breaks my heart! I'm sure he's fine but I just worry...he'll always be my first baby.

Pregnancy Hormones

For the past month I have really felt like my hormones have kicked in. I'm not really moody or grumpy but I definitely cry a lot easier, especially when it comes to animals.

I've always been a huge animal lover and have been very sensitive towards them. I never could go in a shelter without crying. I could never watch the ASPCA commercials without crying (let's face it who doesn't). So my normal self is already a crazy crying animal lady.

But over this past month I've been a hot mess. In all honesty, I have cried the last five nights over animals. Most of the reasons have been because I worry about all of the animals outside. I worried when it was freezing cold and raining. I even prayed it wouldn't rain and we wouldn't have a snow day just so the sweet little animals could stay warm and dry.

Then I found a sad article on FB about two dogs at the local shelter and was crying my eyes out a few nights ago. Why do people have to be so mean to their dogs and cats? They can't talk! They don't have choices!

Finally when J and I were watching The Oscars I had a complete meltdown when they were showing a preview for Life of Pi. Talking about the poor animals drowning and even talking about circus animals!

What is my problem?!

J always brings up people. People are homeless. People are in the cold. I totally agree. But people have choices. People can go to shelters and get help. People understand (for the most part). Animals don't. Animals just want to love you unconditionally.





So tonight just like all other nights I hug and love on my sweet Oliver and Wembley a little more. Even though right now (and most times) I want to save all the animals of the world and my heart aches for them, I will just have to take one day at a time and know that God is watching over them.

Menu Monday: The best skinny enchiladas!!

Even though we only had a three day week last week (President's Day Monday and snow day Friday) I do not wish to repeat it! Poor J was super sick all week and it's just not fun when your husband is sick and grumpy. I just want him to be good as new!

So this week there is only one new recipe but this one is better that any four or five I would normally share with you. Enjoy!

Monday

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas 

Oh my goodness. Stop what you're doing and make these right now. They were the BOMB.COM!

Not kidding.

J said we never needed to go out to eat for Mexican food again. 

Woot! Woot!

I have to admit that I gloated about this a lot at school the next day. They know I ain't no cook and unless it's in a crock pot it usually doesn't come out!

But this...well, they were amazaballs!!

There were two things I did differently than what the recipe calls for:

1. didn't add onions {although this is optional so shouldn't count}

The Real 1. Put the chicken in the crock-pot all day with chicken broth. This way it just fell apart when it came time to shred it ....so easy!! Plus I don't know how to make it any other way without it being tough and dry.

2. It says to make the sauce first and I made it almost last. I didn't want it to just sit and I didn't want to burn it. Definitely keep it on medium while it melts and continue to stir! Then you can move it down to low while do finish up prepping. 

Do you see how much I just wrote about this recipe? Yeah, that's because it's soooo good.

Now go put it on your dinner menu.

 275 calories for one...and trust me, it fills you up!

Tuesday

Dominos Pizza.

J had class and I had been craving pizza for about a week.

Totally hit the spot!

Wednesday & Thursday
J was super sick. So I ended up eating a big salad on Wednesday and Subway on Thursday. Poor J! So glad he's feeling better.

George-a good, solid name

Two weeks ago yesterday my dear sweet George went to heaven.

I picked out George at our local humane society my sophomore year of high school. I had another cat, Sunny, who became very ill at a young age and we had to put him down. George was my healing cat because Sunny was my first. I'll never forget the day I picked him out and named him. George was a good, solid name (can you name that movie?).

We quickly all fell in love with this sweet cat. He had an adorable little face and I just loved the white around his nose.

Georgie and Okie...BFFs

He was the perfect cat.

When I left for college I had a hard time leaving George. He was my baby. He slept with me every night. But my sister said that she would take good care of him. When I would come home to visit things with George were never exactly the same. He was made at me for leaving him and I don't blame him. Soon he became more of my sister's cat.

such good manners!

Then this fall my sister left for college. Poor George was lost! I tried to visit him a lot and he eventually became more of my parent's cat. Then in December my parent's moved. They left the only house George had ever known. The first week they lived in their new home, George ate something bad. He had to go to the vet and was very sick. We thought for sure we were going to loose him. But G is our fighter. He was back to normal in no time.

One of my favorite pictures of George and my sister

But two weeks ago George's little body gave up. My mom told me a few days after it happened so it wouldn't upset me at work. I think a lot of it had to do with the stress of moving but George was also about 16 years old.

my sister liked to dress him up

I know Georgie lived a wonderful life. He was loved by so many. We have so many great memories with him. But I just can't help but to be sad that he passed away by himself. Without anyone around. J said that cats do that when they are sick. They want to be alone. But it just kills me that we were not around to say goodbye or to get one last head-butt (which he did as his, "I love you").

always finding a place to snuggle

So thank you my sweet Georgie for being such a wonderful cat to all of us growing up. I wish Wembley could take some pointers from you :) We will never forget our little Peanut.

this one kills me--like, "i'm not doing anything"

This blog post was written later because my sister just found out this weekend when she came home.

Bumpdate Week 13

Total Weigh Gain: Went to the doctor last week and was up 4lbs. I about crapped. I wanted to cry. Apparently my scale is off at home too. Definitely watching what I'm eating and giving in less to cravings expect for that pizza Tuesday night  and walking more. I can't wait until for the warm weather!!

How big is baby? 13 weeks the size of a tangerine

Maternity Clothes: Nope, just regular clothes. I did buy a bellaband to see what it was like and I'm not totally crazy about it. It keep pulling up and doesn't do the job. I'll try again down the road and I only wore it for a few hours with jeans (even though they still fit). I tried maternity jeans on for size over the weekend and they really bothered me. I'm guessing because they were super loose on top.

Stretch Marks: None yet

Sleep: Still sleeping on my stomach and waking up once a night to go to the bathroom.

Best moment of the week? Telling my students.

Movement: Nothing yet! Someone told me it reminded them of a fish swimming. I sure hope not because I do not like fish!

Food cravings: I really haven't had anything big. I really wanted pizza this weekend and still Tuesday night, so since J was in class until 11 I ordered one. He was happy to have it when he came home too so I consider that a win-win.

Food aversions: Last night nothing sounded good to eat.

Labor signs: None, thank goodness!

Belly button in or out? In! I hope it stays this way.

What I miss: Nothing! Very thankful for our sweet little lovey!

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender. We made an appointment but I promised J we wouldn't tell anyone until after our families know. 

Milestones: Buying a Bellaband? haha Found out another coworker of mine is due in August as well. That makes three of us! AND she is due two days after me. We are all delivering at the same hospital too. Party on the labor and delivery floor!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

What I'm loving this Wednesday....

I'm loving these adorable Easter pails. I can't wait to buy one for baby G next year!

I'm loving these 67 books every geek parent should read to their child before they are 10.

I'm loving the delicious 2-ingredient (or 4 ingredient) cookies. I made some here.

I'm loving Daddy-Daughter Date ideas {just incase we have a girl} or Mommy-Son Dates {in case it's a boy}!

I'm loving the beautiful sunshine and knowing spring is right around the corner. It can't come soon enough!

I'm loving we only have 5 more weeks until spring break...

What are you loving this Wednesday?

The Day I Told My Students...

The day I told my students I was pregnant is a day I will never forget. In fact, I could kick myself in the behind for not video recording it. Seriously, it would have been a YouTube hit!

I was beyond excited to tell my kiddos. Since I had all of them last year in 4th grade we know each other very well. They truly feel like my kids most of the time and I've seen them more in two years than some of their own families. As crazy as they may drive me, I love them so much! So I was pumped to tell them about the baby.

Just a few days before Valentine's Day, one of my students asked when I was going to have a baby. I immediately became worried. Did he hear me say something? Is he psychic? When I asked him why he wanted to know he informed me that a few of the kids were talking about it the other day and how I was getting old and probably should have a kid soon.

Because all students think about their teacher and when she should have a child.

Anyways, jump forward to Valentine's Day and I was a nervous wreck! I don't know why I was so nervous to tell them. I really thought they would be excited and clap a little but would be so focused on their Valentine's candy and cards that they wouldn't care too much.

Boy, was I wrong!

We played high/low at the end of the day, just like every Friday (Thursday), and we also added something we loved to our high and low list. When it was my turn I said, "I love something new today." Then I showed them my paper heart that said, "Baby G".

There were crickets. Nothing. No reactions. It took them about 20 seconds for it to click in. Finally one of the girls said, "Baby G, are you having a baby?"

Cue freaking out.

Gasps were heard all around the room. There was screaming. There was clapping. There was jumping up and down. One of the girls was crying. There were many questions including, "is it a boy or girl?", "what are you going to name it?", "when did you find out?". 

I slowly became overwhelmed and a little embarrassed  I know they mean well, trust me, but they were going crazy. A few of them ran to the other 5th grade rooms and shouted it out. They were yelling it up and down the hallway. Thankfully the bell rang and they were gone but I was told by my principal that if you were in the hall or outside in the front with the buses, you knew within about five seconds.

I love that they are so excited for me and my family. They almost had me in tears before they exploded. But I have a difficult time with having all the attention on me, so I'm not going to lie when I tell you it was a little much for me to handle. But I'm so thankful for how much they care and they were hysterically funny. And remember the only reason why I had this much reaction was because they know me so well and we're on year two together.

Now I can only hope they are able to lay low about it for the rest of the year. I know that they will be excited for a while. I definitely have to make them promise not to freak out this much when I tell them the gender!

Menu Monday & That's Pin-Tastic!

Most of my recipes come from Pinterest or other bloggers, so today I decided to link up with two fabulous bloggers. Check them out below!

Monday 

Oven Roasted Sausage, Potatoes, and Peppers

So the recipe calls for you to put Olive oil on the food and mix it all together. I didn't use that much. I suggest you use a good amount. Also I would put the olive oil mainly on the potatoes and veggies. I also used aluminum foil on the bottom of the pan and the potatoes still got stuck! {probably because I didn't use enough oil}. Over all it was a pretty good recipe. It definitely doesn't have a lot of flavor, even with the million of peppers I put on it. Frank's Hot Sauce was added. I would add rosemary, little garlic, sea salt, etc. to add flavor.

and 2-Ingredient cookies for dessert

The cookies were wonderful! Except I forgot one important factor. Josh hate bananas! haha I totally forget that fact because I love them so much. He is super picky too so I should have known.

Anyways, I added a tablespoon of peanut butter and mini-chocolate chips.

To die for!!

And honestly, I didn't feel that bad eating two three.

Tuesday

Leftovers {conference night}

Wednesday

Williams-Sonoma Lasagna

This turned out excellent! The only negative was that the edges were a little burnt. I had the timer on the crockpot, but I think it over cooked just a little. Next time my goal is to try the Pioneer Woman lasagna recipe. We also have enough left over for about 3 other meals! Thank you frozen extras!

Thursday

Since it was Valentine's Day, I wanted to surprise J was one of his favorites--Piada {an Italian version of Chipotle with amazingly fresh ingredients!}. However, we have not be there in forever and for the life of me I couldn't make any decisions as to what he would want. So, instead I gave away my secret and had him tell me...and pick it up. Best of both words I guess!

{link}

Friday

Leftovers

Saturday

Dinner at parents


Don't forget to link up with Rachel!


and today I'm also linking up with I Love You More Than Carrots

Bump Date: Weeks 11&12

Total Weigh Gain: Haven't been to the Dr in a few weeks. I'm guessing 2-3 pounds.

How big is baby? 11 weeks: The size of a fig! 12 weeks: A lime...it's growing!

Maternity Clothes: Nope, just regular clothes.

Stretch Marks: None yet

Sleep: Still waking up a few times. Worried that I sleep on my stomach most nights but I read it's okay for now. Wondering when to get a pregnancy pillow...?

Best moment of the week? Telling everyone!

Movement: Nothing yet! Not that I can feel at least :)

Food cravings: 11 weeks: Still veggie subs and french fries but they must have ketchup
                         12 weeks: Same as above. I told J no more fries!

Food aversions: I've tried tacos twice and just did not feel good after. I think it's in my head.

Labor signs: None, thank goodness!

Belly button in or out? In! I hope it stays this way. It freaks me out when they pop...which means it probably will.

What I miss: Nothing really...starting to feel a little better. I've been exhausted and have had a hard time sleeping in when I have the time.

What I'm looking forward to: Gender reveal!! Trying to convince J we need to find out early :)

Milestones: Nothing too big this week. It's feeling a little more real now that we told everyone! I bought a doppler on Amazon. Not sure if that was a good idea or not. But I'm excited to use it!

Bumpdate: 9 & 10 weeks

Total Weigh Gain: According to the doctor's scale I'm up 2lbs. But I also had my Uggs on. My home scale says +0.5. I like that better.

How big is baby? 9 weeks: The size of a cherry! 10 weeks: A kumquat

Maternity Clothes: Nope, just regular clothes.

Stretch Marks: None yet

Sleep: So, so. I wake up 5-6 times per night. I just can't get comfortable! I'm worried about how I'll feel at we 30+. I also sleep on my stomach almost every night. I have heard it's okay right now.

Best moment of the week? Going to the doctor on 1/22/13. We got to see the heartbeat again and even see our little lovey wiggle around!

Movement: We saw some movement but I won't be able to feel it for quite a while.

Food cravings: 9 weeks: Anything spicy, especially jalapenos! I could eat a veggie sub daily.
                         10 weeks: Still the same but add tater tots with ketchup (?)

Food aversions: This is something I never thought I'd say and kind of goes against my love for jalapenos but I want nothing to do with Mexican food! Before I could have eaten it 365 days but lately, yuck! Also sweets don't appeal to me either, which is a good thing!

Labor signs: None, thank goodness!

Belly button in or out? In! I hope it stays this way. It freaks me out when they pop...which means it probably will.

What I miss: Nothing really...just not feeling sick all the time. That would be nice. Only three weeks until I'm out of the first trimester!

What I'm looking forward to: Our next appointment in February, even though we won't get to see our little lovey, just listen to his/her heartbeat. I'm also excited to tell (the rest of) my coworkers and students on Valentines Day!

Milestones: Just feeling that it's more real every day. I can't wait to share all of the news with you all {which I did if you're reading this}. I was also relieved to hear from my doctor that after today's appoint there is only a 5% chance of something happening. Still praying every day!

Bumpdate: Weeks 7 & 8

How far along: 7 and 8 weeks

How big is baby: At 7 weeks, baby G was the size of a blueberry. At 8 weeks, the size of a raspberry. Both which sound delicious!

Weight gain/loss: 0 pounds so far. I think it's because some days I'm starving then I'll have days where I have to force myself to eat. It kind of evens things out.

Maternity Clothes: Nope. Not for a while...I hope!

Stretch marks: See above!

Sleep: Not great. I'm bummed that it's been bad at such an early stage. I do get up to go to the bathroom and I know that's typical. But I wake up all the time worrying about J. Am I taking up too much room? Am I taking the blankets? Am I breathing in his face? The only time I'm comfortable is laying on my stomach, which won't last too long. So I think it's time to get a king size bed. I'm hoping this will help because I won't worry about the space. When you're husband is 6'4'' it can be difficult to share a queen bed with him, a dog, and a cat.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Anything spicy. I've been putting jalapenos on everything. The other day I was craving mozzarella sticks. I'm pretty sure I haven't had these since middle school or high school. To be honest, they've always grossed me out a little. So on Friday I caved in. I went to Arbys and got a Jr Roast Beef (took off the top bun--too much bread) and a small order of mozzarella sicks. OH. MY. GOSH. Satisfying a craving is crazy!! Normally I don't give in, but I had to. I felt like I had put the best tasting food ever in my mouth. Now when I think about it, it makes me sick.

Gender: We will hopefully know at the end of March or beginning of April!

Movement:  None yet!

The belly: Little bloating and random hive-like spots, especially when I get out of the shower. They don't itch but they're always there!

Worries: I'm trying not to worry as much, but I'm always going to worry if the baby is okay. We go back to the Dr on the 22nd for, what should have been, our first appointment. I'm excited to see our little lovely again!

What I Miss: Not feeling sick all the time but we are so thankful that I will take it!

Symptoms: Nauseated in the mornings (sometimes all day). I haven't been sick but I thought I was going to several times. I also am exhausted at the end of the day. I can fall asleep in about 5 seconds.

What I'm looking forward to: February 14th when I can post this and tell everyone I work with!

Best moment of the week: Telling my grandma, aunt, cousin, and team. I asked my grandma and aunt how they would feel about being a great-grandma/great-aunt in August and they were thrilled! I don't see them often so I just called them. We were going to wait to tell family but J told his grandma and aunt so I went ahead and told mine. More people praying for us {via Shannon Dew}! I also decided to tell my team. I was going to wait until after the ultrasound on the 22nd but I did it for three reasons, 1) I have a student teacher that comes the 23rd and I wanted them to know before she came  2) I've been very sick in the mornings and have had to run out of the classroom a few times and 3) if something did happen, I would be gone from school for a few days and they would find out that way. I would rather have them hear happy news from me first. They were all very supportive and happy for us.  They're my second family and it just felt right. They also know not to say anything until February 14th. :o)

Bumpdate: Week 6

How far along: 6 weeks {+ a few days}

How big is baby: Baby G is the size of a pea. Teeny tiny!

Weight gain/loss: 0 pounds so far. I had lost a few lbs at first, but went back up to regular weight.

Maternity Clothes: Nope. Not for a while...I hope!

Stretch marks: See above!

Sleep: Over Christmas break I had insomnia, where I would wake up around 3am for a good hour/hour and a half. It was not cool. At the end of break I started sleeping through the night (minus a few bathroom trips). Now I wake up between 4-5am feeling super nauseated. I usually can go back to sleep just to ignore it.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Salads mainly or chick-fil-a with hot sauce

Gender: We will hopefully know at the end of March or beginning of April!

Movement:  None yet!

The belly: Nothing except some bloating.

Worries: Just making sure baby is okay. I had terrible cramps over break, which really scared me but everything turned out to be okay. Then the Dr. called to tell me my hcg levels were not doubling, so we had to go in for an ultrasound. Thankfully everything was okay and we even got to see the heartbeat for the first time!

What I Miss: Nothing!

Symptoms: Nauseated in the mornings. I haven't been sick but I thought I was going to several times. I also am exhausted at the end of the day. Piano lessons are rough after school.

What I'm looking forward to: The next 8 months!

Best moment of the week: Seeing baby G's heartbeat (162) and J telling me that he will never forget the image of the blinking heartbeat until the day he dies. How sweet is that?!

Baby Boom!

First I want to thank you all for the sweet comments, FB messages, tweets, and emails. We have been so overwhelmed with the amount of love we are receiving from our family and friends. We are so thankful to have such wonderful people in our lives and the blog world has really opened up many doors for me. I've met so many incredible women, who I'm lucky to call my friends. So, thank you all for your support.

And let me be honest for a minute... Blog land has been a boom town recently! I actually started feeling a little guilty when everyone started to announce their pregnancy in the blog world {and many in my RL}.  The more people that announced the more excited I began to get because I would have people to relate to. But I also started feeling bad because I know there are so many women and families out there who are longing for a baby. It will happen.

Every evening I count my blessing. I know how lucky we are to be given this opportunity to be parents. We are so thankful to have this little baby {even though it still doesn't feel real at times} and we try not to take any day for granited.

We've had a lot of questions so I'll try to answer a few. Let me know if I missed yours!

1. When is your due date? My official due date is August 28th. I'm actually hoping to make it to September so I can go to the first week of school or so.

2. Are you going back to work? Yes. This may be a post in itself sometime, but yes I am.

3. How far along are you? I'm 12 weeks right now

4. How have you been feeling? Actually I've been doing really well. I was only sick two times which is amazing. I was really worried about morning sickness, especially because of my job. There were only a small handful of days where I truly was miserable and only about three of those were on a school day. I've been very tired over the last two weeks. I feel like I got a light mixture of both morning sickness and tiredness. But hey, I'll take it!

5. Are you finding out the gender? Yes. Yes. Yes. It can't come soon enough!

Overall I still am having a hard time getting it all to sink in. Even now that everyone knows, it is very strange. I hope it will all start to seem more real very soon. I also promise not to make this blog all about pregnancy and the baby. I do have Bumpdate posts I want publish for my personal blog journey. I'll probably post the first few on the weekends not to bore you all! But I do have some funny stories to share with you (did you see the one about my Wembley meltdown?).

Thank you again for all of the wonderful comments. We appreciate them so much!

My Meltdown over the Cat

Wembley our cat has been stressing me out completely. He is a climber. I've never had a cat who climbs and Wembley is on everything. The thing that bothers me the most is the counter tops. It's disgusting. Trust me, I know this. I hear people talk say, "how can you let your cat on the counter??"

Let me ask you this question....how can you prevent it? If you can tell me then go right ahead but nothing is working.

We first tried ScatSpray cans. They have an automatic sensor. They worked for my parents and the dogs and cats stayed out of their dining room. Not Wembley. You could spray him in the face and he wouldn't care.

We have tried a water bottle. But of course you have to actually be there to squirt him. So now he thinks it's a game and will run around the house.

Aluminum foil? Yup. Been there, done that. He actually got on the counter and took a little nap on top of it.

Yelling does nothing. Putting blockers on the counter does nothing but make him want up even more because he likes to push things off.

Finally we found, what I thought would be, our saving grace.

You are now looking at the ScatMat. It is a plastic mat that will give your cat the tiniest shock. I was really worried at first because I didn't want to hurt him. But it's gross he is on the counters and with the baby coming and baby stuff around, it must stop.This mat gives him more of a scare than anything. I've hit it a few times and it just scares me because I forget about it or I'll test it to see if it's working and..surprise! It still is!!

All was great at first. He stayed off the counters for about two days. Then being the smarta$$ cat he is, he realized it wasn't on all of the counters but just in one particular place. So he started getting on the other side. I would move it...he would figure it out...then he would go back to the first place. He's so smart he has figured out the small places it doesn't go and can jump around the areas.

On Wednesday night I had a meltdown. I'm going to blame it on my pregnancy hormones and not that fact that I lost my mind. He kept getting on other parts of the empty counter (trying to get in the cabinets that he can open) and I had been off the chair trying to get him off at least 10 times. 

Finally I broke down. I started sobbing. I'm pretty sure words came out of my mouth such as, "why can't you just be good? Don't you love me? George was such a good cat. Why can't you be like him? Why did God live us a climber? He knows I like a clean house. Will you please just listen to me?"

I know he didn't understand a word I said but I swear he was looking right at me when I said it. I picked up him and took him upstairs to bed, where I shut the door (me and Oliver were in there too) because I couldn't handle him being downstairs by himself until J came home. Thankfully he curled up in bed and went sound asleep.

After telling J my discussion/meltdown with Wembley, he showed me this video. I couldn't help but laugh.

He is the cutest thing and is such a sweetheart in the mornings. I just don't get the climbing thing.

This weekend we are going to buy more child proof locks, another cat house, and a piece of plastic that you put under roll chairs in hopes that will trick him into thinking we bought more ScatMats (I can't afford 2 more at $75 a piece)!

Any cat whisperers out there? I need your help!

Our hearts are full with joy!

On this Valentine's Day our hearts are bigger than ever!

We are so excited to finally get to tell everyone that we are expecting a baby in August!

We will probably be posting on Facebook tonight or tomorrow so if you are friends with me and I haven't posted anything, please don't say anything on there just yet. Thanks!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Don't forget to link up with Jamie!

Menu Monday-You don't want to miss this!

Linking up with Rachel today for Menu Monday!

I've been so proud of myself for cooking new items and for cooking quite a bit lately. Tuesday's are difficult because J has class and doesn't get home until 11. So I usually eat leftovers or Subway. Friday nights J works. I usually eat the opposite of what I didn't eat on Tuesday or something else (ie. Amy's burritos or Amy's Mac & Cheese). It works out pretty well.

Since I forgot to post Menu Monday last week, here are some dishes we've had over the past two weeks.

Spicy Pasta Sausage

I saw a lot of girls on Twitter making this so I had to try it out. Not only was it super easy but it was delicious too! We are big turkey sausage fans in this house so we were excited to try it. J even took leftovers to work the next day!

Pad Thai

I didn't take a picture so you get this one!-link below

I used a combo of this recipe and Rachel Ray's recipe. I really liked Rachel's sauce and thought it was easier to make. It turned out delicious!

Coconut Chicken Curry

Again, not my picture-link above

Over winter break I had Indian food for the first time and fell in love! I wanted to try to make it at home and found this easy recipe. It was awesome for being homemade and for me never making Indian food before. I actually didn't put it in the crock put and it still turned out really well. I'm excited to make it again!

Turkey Meatball Subs

I don't have a picture for these and the one online doesn't do them justice. I've made these Rachel Ray meatballs before and they're our favorite by far! The recipe makes a ton so I always freeze them for a later time.

Pizza Subs

Normally when we make meatball subs we use wheat hot dog buns but J decided to get these honkin buns last week. I didn't want to waste them, so I decided we were going to do pizza subs one night. This was not a Pinterest recipe but so easy to make.

Ingredients:

Turkey Pepperoni

Banana Peppers

Green Olives

Cheese

Pizza Sauce 

Any other toppings that you desire!

J was in charge of making these. He put all the pepperoni, peppers, olives, and sauce into a skillet and warmed it all up. While he was cooking those items together, he toasted the buns lightly. He put the mixture on the buns and sprinkled with cheese then stuck them under the broiler until the cheese was melted.

They were delicious!! 

*Note: When I saw that J brought these huge buns home, I made sure to dig out the insides so there wasn't as much heavy bread there. I can't handle all of that white bread!

**Note: All of these meals gave us left overs, which was wonderful since there is only two of us! 

So what!

This week I'm saying SO WHAT if...

• I have zero Valentines decorations up. I'll there this weekend {hopefully}
  
  
• I forgot to link up for Menu Monday even when I cooked some great recipes last week. I'll just add them to next Monday's blog post.
  
  
• I've been to Michaels twice in the past few months to buy "craft" things...and I have yet to make a "craft".
  
  
• I want to move! I actually wouldn't mind staying in the same neighborhood. Our house is small and the piano is beside the kitchen table. I feel very overwhelmed with my piano students and germs going through my house. And one kiddo might have broke a clock while using the bathroom upstairs (no downstairs bathroom).
  
  
• I forgot my social studies text book yesterday at school therefore I could not get the slideshow done for today. Major fail. Guess I'll be going in early!
  
  
• I'm looking forward to next weekend! We have a 4 day weekend, party at my parent's house, and my sister will be in town.
  
  
• If J and I have had plans to go to dinner for the last four weekends. Between both of us being sick, tired, or crazy weather, it has yet to happen. Maybe this Saturday will be the winner!

T.G.I.F(ebruary)

Reasons why I'm ready for February:

• It's one month closer to warmer weather

• Second round of conferences will be done then no more for the year

• Valentines Day...yes, it's a Hallmark holiday, but it is still fun!

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• January has just seemed to drag on and on this month

• Februany subs from Subway! {Even though I've been hooked on veggie lately}

• Only 28 days to complete the month!

• Groundhog Day is fun to watch the little bugger poke his head out and make everyone nervous about having more winter or excited for an early spring

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• President's Day: I love celebrating our presidents and getting the day off school

• Second report card will be completed and then only one left!

• Trying to decide what I'm going to give up or what goal I'm going to make for Lent on Ash Wednesday

• You can wear lots of pink and it's okay

Love this!

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