Weekend Recap/ Menu Planning Monday

First- we'll start with food because I like it! Inspired by orgjunkie.com, here is our menu for the week:

Sunday- family was on the own- I had dinner out with friends. More on that later.
Monday- creamy ranch chicken with egg noodles and broccoli
Tuesday- beef tacos
Wednesday- Sean and I are having steaks on the grill- the kids will have burgers
Thursday- family on own- I have dinner plans with my friend Linda
Friday- bbq chicken, roasted potatoes
Saturday- Halloween party

Pretty easy week menu wise!

Weekend Recap

I had such a nice weekend. I almost felt like my weekend started on Thursday because I had dinner out with my six closest girlfriends. We went to Winking Lizard and caught up with each other. between marriages, babies, boyfriends, dating stories, we always have so much to talk about!

Friday was a busy day at work. I came home and wanted to relax but the house was a mess. So- we picked up the downstairs and called it a day. Hunter cleaned his bedroom, bathroom, basement and basement bathroom in preparation for his buddies coming over.

My parents came over on Saturday for a little bit (they took Hunter to a play in the afternoon) and I did laundry all day. The greatest was from 1-3 when I had Hunter gone, Quinlin and Owen napping, and Sean napping as well. I sat in the living room and happily tried to catch up on my DVR. I think I have a problem when there are so many shows, and not enough time to watch them all. it was so nice to have peace and quiet and "me" time. Saturday night I went to Megan's for her 11th annual slumber party. It was low key this year- maybe about 15 of us, but a nice time. I decided not to slumber there- something about sleeping in my own bed- so I left about midnight.

Sunday was fantastic! A Browns win over the Saints (amazing defense and special teams game) and then movie night with seven friends. We saw:

Very cute comedy- a little predictable- but I very much enjoyed it. Even though I knew the premise of the movie, I couldnt help but cry when the babies parents die and the baby was orphaned. I hope to God that Sean and I live a long life together!!! Anyway- typical chick flick. Glad I saw it- I am not a Katherine Heigl fan at all (as a person) but love her in these kinds of movies! After the movie, we went to Bonefish Grill. Once again, it was fabulous. This time, I got the scallops and shrimp pan asian style. That was on my sampler platter from the first time I was there and I enjoyed it just the same. I came home, watched some Sunday night football- much more fun to watch now that I have more of an interest in other teams because of my fantasy team. more on them tomorrow for Tell All Tuesday.

Our busy week

Well- I knew going into it this week would be busy. Let's start with Sunday!

our photo shoot...The bee tried to eat the elephant.

Monday- the dentist. Ick. 1 cavity. To be filled in November.

Tuesday- Hunter's sports awards and choir concert. Doesnt he look cute thrilled to be going to a concert?

yep- the only one wearing a tie.... I came home and played with this:

Wednesday- a day to do nothing. A day to enjoy our kids and watch the Teen Mom reunion on my dvr...

Thursday- a cool day at work... could this be my new BFF?

After work, I went out to dinner with my 6 closest real BFF's.

Then there is Friday- busy day at work and then the weekend. Woot Woot!

Adventures in Table Food

See above? That is the menu the daycare provides for lunches.... After Quinlin turned 9 months, I told them it was ok to start her on table foods. I thought we would go into it slowly, but my girl (mind you 75% weight) loves food! and to eat! So- I started her last week and its been a breeze. She's getting a balanced diet while attempting to eat real food. I still have her on rice cereal in the mornings in addition to a banana or fruit, but other than that, she's in it full force.

A friend asked me for good table food suggestions so I figured I'd put on here the things Owen ate at a year and also what Quinlin is venturing into:
Mini raviolis

Spaghettios
Morning star farms broccoli cheese bites or spinach bites
Fish sticks
Peas, carrots, squash cubes (in a microwave bag)
Chicken nuggets
Turkey lunch meat
Kraft crumbles- or cheese cubes in small pieces
Yogurt
I started PB&J at 13 or 14 months for Owen (but watched carefully with the peanut)
Pancakes
Waffles
French toast sticks
Bagelfuls
Apple sauce
Eggs are good (though Owen hates them- we keep trying)
Strained soup- see below about Quinny- the soups provide good veggies in them
Spaghetti
Toast
tacos- chicken or beef...cut into small pieces and eaten on a spoon to start

with Quinlin- she has gotten so far- chicken vegetable noodle soups- strained so she’s eating most everything but the broth
baked potatoes/mashed potatoes
salisbury steak
meatloaf
all fruit

Today on the menu at school for Owen and Quinlin is breakfast day- waffles, sausage, hashbrown, applesauce and milk. She should really like tomorrow too- chicken noodle casserole, green beans, peaches and milk.

I must say, one of the reasons we switched daycares, aside from the cost, was that the one we found provides breakfast, lunch, 2 snacks a day and is $400 cheaper a month (than if we would have stayed at Owen's old daycare. The food is such a HUGE advantage!

Tell All Tuesday

Random thoughts:

• I have so much to do! I am working on a huge project at work and it is taking over my world. I go to bed and dream about it, think about it, plan next steps. I love it...but cannot find a way to wrap my arms around the whole project to finish it. The good thing is- I kind of volunteered for this project. Anything to make myself more useful/valuable can only be a good thing, right? I'm waiting for my boss to come in today to check on my progress and let me know if I'm at least heading in the right direction. I think I am- and am, in fact, quite proud of what it is shaping up to be. It's art related, and because I work in the sports industry, this project is completely out of my expertise, but I'm getting there. I'm going to be an art pro before you know it!
• At home, I did not do any cleaning this weekend, aside from laundry. And- I'm ok with that. We spent the weekend at home, but my priorities were my children- all three of them. Hunter needed me because of his surgery, and the babies always need me, so my messy house can wait. I'm hoping to tackle something tonight. Once I get organized to a point, Sean said we can get a cleaning lady. Please let me get organized soon.
• The dentist last night wasnt that bad. I actually like him- and this is the first dental office I have been to where I dont get talked down to. One cavity- so could be worse. It just means I'm stuck going back in November. Yikes!
• I came home from the dentist and Owen was waiting for me- kept asking for me when I was gone. It totally melted my heart. I think his routine was thrown off a bit since I'm the one who always picks him up from daycare. So- it was nice to have some extra cuddle time with him.
• I missed out on cuddle time with Quinlin as she took a nap when I got home. So- I got to feed her her bottle at 7:45 and put her to bed. She decided she didnt have enough time with me and preceeded to wake up at 1:20am. Back to bed she went about 1:45 but I was up the rest of the night.
• Dropped Owen and Quinlin off this morning and Owen was especially clingy. I felt bad leaving. The guilt of being a working mom. Then more guilt as Sean told me about a co-worker (or someone) who has a 2 year old son who was just diagnosed with cancer. I cannot wait to pick my kids up today and hug them.
• Hunter is getting more and more independent. Has a sports banquet at 4:15 today and he is hanging out with his buddies after school at a local restaurant and then heading to his banquet (which I'll miss- again the guilt of being a working mom). I get to pick up the babies from daycare, run them home, pick up Hunter and take him to his choir concert. I wish I could be in two places at once.
• I cant get Adam Lambert's songs out of my head. Driving.Me.Crazy!
• Is it wrong that I love Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant? I'm incredibly excited for the new seasons to begin.
• My Fantasy Football team blows...
• The babies had their photoshoot with my friend Colleen Colleen Reed Photography and I am having trouble picking out which photos to get on a disc. They are all so good! Do you not die over this face?

Or this one?

Love them!



What we have been up to

We had a great weekend- well most of us...Hunter had his surgery- he was such a champion. To deal with getting 5 teeth pulled (two bottom wisdom, two upper adult, 1 upper baby tooth) and having a chain attached to the unexposed adult tooth behind the baby tooth took some strength. It was rough friday morning but then he kind of sailed through the rest of the day. I have a picture of him, but if he knew I posted it on my blog, he'd kill me. So- no image to post. He was eating pizza like a champ Friday night (of course, 10 minutes later the surgeon called to see how he was doing and specifically said no pizza- oops!) We spent the rest of the weekend home and relaxing.

Quinlin was a talking machine:

It was really cute- this one you definitely need the volume to hear Owen chiming in in the background...

And then- there is this one...Owen's laugh cracks me up:

And- she was also a mover and a shaker this weekend!



ignore my annoying voice in these- I get so excited!

We have a busy week ahead so I can't even begin thinking about a menu. This week should hopefully fly by for us.

Monday- I have a dentist appointment- yikes! I hate going- I put it off like crazy.

Tuesday- Hunter has a choir concert at school

Wednesday- open

Thursday- girls dinner with my 6 closest girlfriends. I am not sure as to location yet but am so excited to see them.

Friday- open

Saturday- My best friends 11th Annual Slumbar Party. I probably wont sleep over but its a fun night to get together in our jammies

Sunday- girls movie night (Life as We Know It) followed by dinner. I think there's about 8 of us going.

So- we'll see how motivated I am to cooking...I am more looking forward to all my girl time! I feel so forunate to have such an amazing group of girlfriends.



Small World

Do you ever think the world is small? I live my life thinking that things happen for a reason, people come in and out of your lives with a purpose, etc... I attribute where I am today, for example due to having Hunter.

Example- I went to college, had Hunter, left school, started up at local college to finish up, met a friend there who worked for a fortune 500 company, got a job, got referred to current job, moved to be closer to current job...love current job (6 years later) and house.

Example- my girlfriend planned a girls night out 5 years ago... I couldn't go- I didn't have a sitter and figured it wasn't that big of a deal. I got a sitter (neighborhood girl- knew the family) last minute and decided to go out. Met husband who only happened to be out for a bachelor's party and the rest is history. I seriously don't know if I would have met Sean had it not been for that night out.

Ok- blog world...new set of coincidences...

I was reading blogs one day and while reading my friend Gia's blog A Life In Progress I stumbled across Karen's blog Karen at Home and was intrigued. I loved her home decorating, her pregnancy stories and now of course, baby Jillian. Well- we started emailing and holy cow the coincidences...
Not only do we have sweet baby girls close in age, we have found out that...

• we went to the same college
• we dated guys who were friends with each other (though we dated them at different times)
• she lives in the city I used to live in, while I live on the side of town she used to live in
• we've been to the same parties
• in college, our sororities were right next door to each other
• Sean knows her "big" sister in her sorority
• she went to the same high school as my college roommate

Can the world be any smaller? I started telling Sean of course all of my new coincidences... I think he was afraid I was leaving him for her! He doesn't have to worry- but it's nice to have made a new friend. I have visions of Quinlin and Jillian becoming little buddies one day!

Splish Splash

One of the things I love about two under two is bathtime! Of course, it only started getting easier now that Quinlin is a bit older...

Luckily bathtime has always been a ritual that Sean and I do together. It's rear when one of us is bathing the babies without the other. Though- when I was very pregnant with Quinlin, it was hard to bathe Owen with my belly in the way, so Sean did the brunt of the work. When Quinlin was in her infant tub, I would bathe her while Owen bathed Sean. Now that she is older, the fun has begun...

Right about here is where I would insert the cutest little video of the two of them splashing together- at each other, on the walls, splashing me (I was drenched), but I'm having issues downloading it. Boo!

I'm so bummed I couldnt post the video. Oh well. Hear's pretty girl happy as a clam last night. Can you believe we have already brought out the fleece jammies?

Quinlin is 9 Months Old

Happy 9 month birthday baby girl (ok two days late)! I cannot believe that she is almost a year old! Time is flying- yet almost standing still at the same time. I dont know if it's because she's my last baby, but I am trying to cherish every moment, a little more so than I did with the others. I look at her and still see my little baby, refusing to acknowledge I think that she's growing up. For example- it's time to start bringing out the convertible car seat. No more infant carrier- could she really be that big? Yes...

We went to her 9 month well visit last night. I was glad we had an appointment scheduled, especially with getting over this ear infection and now learning that she's allergic to amoxicillin (not sure if I posted about this before, but we got a call on Monday that she had completely broken out in a rash). Glad to have had the appointment and had her looked at. Still some fluid in her ears from the infection and the rash is almost gone.

For the stats- my little chunky monkey!!!

• Weight- 20 pounds, 4 oz (75%)
• Height- 26 3/4 inches (25%)
• Head- 16 3/4 inches (10%)

So- she is short, fat with a small head! I seriously thought she was getting taller too! It's neat to look back on where the other kids were (I wish I kept better records when Hunter was a baby). Owen, at 9 months, was 20 lbs, 3 oz and 28.5 inches so about the same weight but taller. At 6 months, Quinlin was 17 pounds, 2 oz and 25 inches. She's definitely growing!

• She has two teeth (bottom front). still waiting on others to pop through.
• She still is in size 3 diapers
• She is now wearing 9 month and 12 month clothing. It's fun to dress her up in all her new outfits (I think I'm going for best dressed baby in her baby classroom).
• She still is on the same eating schedule (4 bottles a day with 5 oz in each and 3 meals a day) and still goes to bed between 8:30-9:00pm each night sleeping until we wake her at 6:30am to go to school or waking up naturally on her own around 7 or 7:30am on the weekends.
• She is not crawling yet, but scootches herself around. She rocks a bit but cant figure out how to get moving. I have a feeling though that this month may show us a bit of mobility.

This was a rough month for her between fevers, the ear infection, the rash, diarrhea... gotta love daycare. But- she's come through all of it being as happy as can be. I seriously can not ask for more- 3 happy, HEALTHY children and a comfy little life. I am truly blessed.

(I had to repost this pic because she looks so stinking cute)

This is from this morning. I tried to get a quick picture of her. She smiled once and then tried to crawl away...

Have a great day!

Picture Day

Owen and Quinlin had picture day at daycare last week. We got the proofs back yesterday. My children are sooooo cute in person, not always the most photogenic, though when taken by the right photographer (ahem- plug for Colleen Reed Photography- http://colleenreed.zenfolio.com/) they really come out so adorable. (so- if you need a photographer, Colleen's your girl!)

The photographers that came to the daycare werent able to quite get the images I am used to. Quinlin was a ham... Owen- not so much. Pardon the quality- we were given a photocopy of the images so these were from my cell. These were my two favorites of Quinlin's. Not sure yet which one I'm going to order. Maybe I'll do both. Not sure which one will go in the class photo too.

Then there was Owen...

Could he look any more miserable and pathetic? He looks like he was just placed in time out. Again- even if I dont order a picture (which I almost feel obligated to because I dont want to show favortism with my children) I still have to pick a picture for his class photo. Ugh.

Luckily I have a small halloween photo shoot scheduled with Colleen this weekend. She can get Owen to smile!

Weekend Recap/ Menu Planning Monday

Well- it was a gorgeous weekend and what did I do most of it? Cleaned. But- on the flip side, all the laundry is done, the house is clean and so hopefully we can enjoy ourselves a bit this week. This weekend was productive and nice. We stayed in on Friday night and then on Saturday night had a nice dinner out with friends followed by attending a comedy club. Sunday- we went to the Browns game. Another loss but still a nice time.

Quinlin still has her ear infection (and now a slight rash) so hoping she does ok being back at daycare for the day. I take her for her 9 month well visit tomorrow night and then will post her 9 month stats and her monthly review!

This is a busy week for us- lots of doctors appointments, Hunter's trip to DC for school, and lots of staying organized I hope. We did well with our menu planning last week- with a few variations and some dinners that we didnt make that will be pushed off to this week, but, our only night out on spending money for food was Saturday, which was planned, so no complaints from me. So- on to our menu for this week. Hopefully, we'll stay on it this week! for more ideas on items for the week- visit orgjunkie.com

Sunday- it was a fend for yourself dinner since we went to the football game. I dont even know what everyone ate, but Owen had grilled cheese

Monday- chicken fajitas

Tuesday- we're going to pick up either Subway or Boston Market since Quinlin has a 6pm doctor's appointment

Wednesday- Salisbury steak and baked potatoes

Thursday- chicken marsala

Friday- meatloaf and mashed potatoes

Saturday- chinese chicken and rice

The menu may change slightly at the end of the week. Hunter has oral surgery friday morning (5 teeth being pulled- yikes), so depending on the patient and his needs, we'll see how it goes!