Meal Planning Monday

This week is a little thrown off due to our trip coming up to the beach. So I am going to do a recipe round-up of some of our favorite go-to meals. 

Honey-Lime-Srircha Grilled Chicken Kabobs- This recipe was shared with me by my mom and it is honestly my favorite grilled chicken. The sauce is super tasty and the longer you can marinate the chicken- the better. Tastes great a day later as well. 

Asian Turkey Meatballs- This is an easy, quick and super tasty recipe. If I have left over rice or quinoa, I'll whip them up real quick. Great for a meal for my hubby to take to work. 

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken- So so yummy. Time saver when we know we will be gone during the day. I haven't made many changes but I have added cut up peppers or broccoli (because I like veggies!). Usually serve with brown or white rice. (Even my picky eater will eat this.)

Large chopped grilled chicken salad- This is straight out of my mothers kitchen and I could eat this all the time. We mix it up based on what we have and whats for sale. I also have had grilled steak or turkey burgers on top in place of chicken. 

Grilled Chicken Salad

*add as many as you'd like*

Romaine Lettuce

Iceburg Lettuce

Spinach Leaves

Hard Boiled Eggs (chopped up)

Artichoke Hearts (chopped up)

Olives

Avocado (chopped)

Peppers (chopped)

Carrots (chopped)

Cucumbers (chopped)

Broccoli (chopped)

Red Cabbage (chopped)

Black Beans or Kidney Beans (rinsed and drained)

Feta Cheese

Grilled Chicken (cut into slices or cubes)

We enjoy this with our homemade Italian Dressing and toasted french bread.

Hope that you can try one of these and that you and your family enjoy them. I will be technology free for a few days while spending time with my little family. Plan to recap when we return. 

*I have linked to respected site/blog where I found these recipes. You can also find on my Pinterest page.*

Construction Party on a Budget

So my boy is completely and totally into construction vehicles. He knows them all by name and adamantly corrects me if I am wrong about one. So it was fitting and because he kept asking for a "struction cake" to have a construction themed party. 

I knew that I didn't have a ton to spend on decorations but wanted it to be fun and festive. So I started exploring Pinterest for ideas and had so much fun picking and choosing from others.

Our door decor. Everyone loved it. I stole the idea from here. Caution tape from Amazon- link below. Sign made by yours truly...Dollar Tree poster board. 

We found the "Party Zone" banner on Oriental Trading.

The desert table, flanked by caution tape. 

Initially, I had planned on baking the cake myself. We had an crazy week prior to the party and around Tuesday I decided I was in over my head. So I ordered this cake from Costco with no decorations and then decorated it myself. Used crushed oreos for dirt, crunch pieces for boulders and m&ms for the border. Again, it was an absolute hit- and most importantly Austin LOVED it. (We had the trucks used- they were throughly washed)

Found the hats on Oriental Trading as well and printed name tags for each guest. Also, picked up some stickers from the Dollar Tree and the kids had a blast decorating their hard hats. 

On one blog, I saw this with a wheel barrel and how cute. But I wasn't so intent on that and just made the sign myself and used our usually present shelf/area. 

We decided on Build-A-Burger. I didn't go into too much detail with this because of time constraints but had the cones (two for a dollar, Dollar Tree) and left over poster board from the signs. Our guests loved it. 

He LOVED his "I'm Digging Being 3" T-shirt. It was a hit and I was thrilled with the product itself. Found on amazon here. 

In addition to the cake, I made each kid a cup of dirt (chocolate pudding and crushed oreos) and we got worms, kit kats, recees pieces, and crunch balls and named them Worms, Bricks, Pebbles and Boulders. The kids LOVED this.

Overall, we had a very happy birthday boy and a successful party done on a budget. The guests loved the theme and I had a blast putting it together. 

Austin's 3! (a few days late)

My amazing, incredible big boy is THREE! I can't believe its been 3 years since I became a mommy. This little boy has brought us such joy everyday. He is the kindest, most caring, sensitive, smart little guy I know. It has been a year of changes for him, from dealing with having a little sister, to getting glasses, to becoming much more independent and sleeping in a big boy bed- he has handled it all with ease. (I may not have done as well.)

Milestones/Stats:

Height:39"

Weight: 32lbs

- size 3T clothes

- still napping well and sleeps 10 hours or so at night

(on the sleep issue, we recently discovered that he has enlarged tonsils and we are going to be exploring options as to if this affects his sleep. If so, he will most likely need them removed)

Likes:

-construction trucks and emergency vehicles

- Daniel Tiger, Veggie Tales and Team Umizoomi

- playing with his friends

- seeing his cousins, aunts/uncles and grandparents

-playing pretend with his daddy

- his swing set

Dislikes:

-when his sister gets into what he is playing with

- trying new foods

My dearest boy, my prayer for you this coming year is that you may grow in your love for the Lord and for others. That the Lord would keep you healthy and vibrantly learning His ways. I pray that you see the best in each person you meet and that you take the time to learn from others. You are by far the best accomplishment in my life and I ask for your forgiveness as I tread through motherhood. 

Fathers Day Weekend Recap

I equally love a weekend with nothing planned as much as I love a weekend with many things going on. This weekend was a nice mix of both.

Saturday began with Austin and I running out to check out a community yard sale. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything much in the kid department.

We put McKenna down for her morning nap and got ready for my parents to come for a morning visit. It was super sweet of them to drive up for the morning and brunch. We tried out a new-to-us restaurant, on Main St. Newark, called Stone Balloon. I ordered a Classic Burger and it was perfect. Sadly, going out to eat with our 12 month old is not an enjoyable experience for me. She generally loses her patience of being in a highchair right about the time that my food arrives- then I end up walking around the restaurant with her. We seldom go out to eat right now (unless we are kidless). Food was great.

We got back home and Austin and McKenna got to hang out with Papa and Kiki for a bit before they both went down for naps. Auntie Beth arrived to see all of us and ended up hanging out with Dan while I ran to the mall for a few minutes of kidless shopping. As much as I enjoyed my time alone, going to the mall is not where I want to be without kids (maybe poolside with a drink in hand). Got what I needed and headed home to relax before they woke.

We got the hose, pool and sprinkler set up for a few minutes of water fun. Dinner followed- some burgers, corn, grilled veggies and homemade sweet potato fries. I LOVE summer dinners! Brings back memories of hot summer nights, after swimming all day, then grilling dinner and getting ice cream. Memories I hope to allow my children to make too. 

Sunday was relaxing and so much fun as we spent our time as a little family of 4. We went to church and then after naps, we took the kids to the state park for a short hike and exploring around the lake. I love doing these things together and watching how the kids love to explore new places and nature. 



Such a great Fathers Day weekend and such a blessing to have amazing men in my life; my dad, my hubby and my FIL. 

A Tribute to Grammi

Today, we lost my grandmother at 95 year old. She has truly been gone for a while, as she would slowly come in and out, but she was doing very well for her age. Funny thing is, when we would catch her at a good moment, her humor and quick wit was on point and seemed as if it never slowed down.

She was in all respects the matriarch of my moms side of the family. She was the "queen" and the boss lady. She allowed for my brothers and I to spend every single summer of our lives on the coast of Maine, in the cottage my great grandfather built. The memories are endless. Moss gardens, smores on the rock, crabbing, selling painted sea shells, lobster feast dinners, grammi-dates to get our hair and nails done, sleep overs at her house etc etc etc. Maine was and is, my favorite place to be. She  is going to be missed deeply by our family.

I am forever thankful for my faith in the Lord and my knowledge that I will see her again. I am at peace knowing that she is worshipping (with her amazing singing) with and to the Lord.

In her words...
Until we meet again.

McKenna is 1!

What an incredible year it has been with this little girl! She is absolutely one of the biggest blessings in our lives. She is funny, sweet, curious and happy. She is into EVERYTHING. Climbing up stairs, opening cabinets, dumping toys out everywhere, pulling all the books off the shelves (see below). She sleeps so well and the Lord knew that this momma needed a good sleeper. She loves her older brother, loves when daddy plays with her and cuddles all the time. 

Milestones/Stats:

- Sleeps through the night 11-12 hours

- 2 naps a day: 9am and 1 pm

- still in 99th percentile...31 inches and 24lbs, respectively

- pulling herself up on everything she can, cruising along furniture

Likes:

- being outside and around people

- LOVES getting pushed in her car around our street

- loves Mickey Mouse...not Minnie though

- playing peek-a-boo

- Bath time
- Her bottle (3x a day)
- being around other kids
- favorite foods are cheese, puffs, fruit, peanut butter toast, eggs, sausage and pasta

Dislikes:
- when something is taken away

- being left alone or left out of something

- when we won't let her get into things she isn't supposed to

Life Lately

Apparently having two kids makes it impossible for me to sit down consistently and get anything written. My only goal now is to periodically sit down and update as to whats happening lately with the kids!

McKenna 8month update: 

Milestones/Stats:

- finally pooping on her own! We are thankful for our chiropractor that helped us when the medical doctors were not. Probiotics, coconut oil, massages and oils! 

- good sleeper. loves her crib. sleeps 2-3 naps a day depending on the day. 12 hours at night. 

- has begun to slow down in growing. she is in 12-18month clothes. 

- I am guessing around 23 lbs. Haven't been to the doctor for a few months. 
- got 2 teeth in so far

Likes: 

- loves her big brother and any attention he will give her

- chewing on anything and everything

- loves food. will try anything set in front of her and we haven't found anything that she doesn't like yet

- playing with her toys

- LOVES bath time

Dislikes:

- being put down for naps

- being in the carseat for too long

Austin 2.5 update:

Milestones/Stats:

- knows his ABC's and can recognize many letters 

- Loves to sing songs...knows Jingle Bells, Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me

- can count to 13 and recognizes numbers 1-9

- wearing 2T, but growing fast!

- naps 1-3 and sleeping 8pm-5:30/6am - wakes too early!

Likes:

- Construction trucks 

- Daniel Tiger and Mickey Mouse

- Watching youtube videos 

- playing pretend with daddy

- french fries, lollipops

- FaceTime with family

- Making McKenna laugh 

Dislikes: 

- being told what to do

- having his diaper changed

- scary things