What's Up Wednesday {1.31.18}

Happy Last Day of the month friends! Although I'm typing this late Tuesday night after being sick to my stomach all day with the stomach bug. Really hoping by the time this is live I'm all good!

Anyway, the last Wednesday of the month means it's time for What's Up Wednesday and I'm linking up with Shay, Mel & Sheaffer!

What we're eating this week:

We had brats Monday night and last night I'm not even sure what Rick pulled together since I was just laying down trying to get better. The rest of the week is super easy meals like pasta/meatballs, chicken spaghetti and then Pizza Friday.

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What I'm reminiscing about:

Well thanks to Timehop, it keeps showing me my babies when they were babies!! This gem popped up this week and I swear my ovaries cried a little. 

And then this one of the girls, this was 3 years ago!! My gosh time sure does fly

What I'm Loving:

My new glasses!! They're Warby Parkers and I love them! I don't need them all the time but they're so cute I may wear them more than usual

What We've Been Up To:

Gosh, we did ALOT last weekend, enough to keep me happy for another couple weekends at least! We saw Disney on Ice, saw Le Miserab, and went out to a girls birthday lunch.

We also did SO MUCH sledding this month and that was awesome because last year I'm not even sure we went once.

What I'm Dreading:

Nothing, that's a good thing, right?

What I'm Working On:

Planning Brayden's class Valentine's party! I live for this stuff, it's so much fun for me! I'm meeting with the other Moms Thursday to go over our plan but I saw this Cupid Arrow Game and doesn't it look like so fun?!

What I'm Excited About:

Super Bowl Sunday which is always a fun time just because I LOVE to eat all the food. I'm totally rooting for the Eagles because I'm sick of seeing the Patriots #yesisaidit #notsorry

Also super excited for Valentine's Day, class parties, date night and lots of birthday parties! It's going to be a fun February

What I'm Watching/Reading:

Watching: How to Get Away With Murder, Mom, The Bachelor and lots of crime shows on ID.

Who else loves Arie?! I know lots of people think he's fake but I truly do not. I love him and I'm not reading any spoilers and really hoping this works out for him

I FINALLY finished The Husband's Secret! It was really good but I'm still not sure how I feel about the end. Now I'm starting Winter Solstice

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What I'm Listening to:

We have been jamming the songs from The Greatest Showman every morning at breakfast! The music is so so good!!

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What I'm Wearing:

The temps are all over the place here, but right now it is FREEZING! Sticking with lots of layers.

This was a favorite outfit from the weekend - my new hoodie and my new shoes!

What I'm Doing This Weekend:

We are keeping it super low key - Saturday the girls have dance class, Brayden has a basketball game and Sunday is Super Bowl!

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

Already mentioned all that above :)

What Else is New:

It's time to register Ella for Kindgarten for Fall and my Mama heart is not ready!! How are we already here?!

Bonus: Favorite Soup Recipe:

That's easy, my baked potato cauliflower soup!! I've been eating it non stop lately, it's just so good!!

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Happy Wednesday!!


*linking up with Jessi's Design & Lindsays Sweet World

Weekly Recap {1.29.18}

Happy Monday friends! Phew our weekend flew by! Probably because it was a pretty busy one! (although I don't have many pics to share)

Last week was pretty uneventful - we didn't do our normal library hang outs or any play dates.

We did however, get to go volunteer at Brayden's school on Tuesday. I set it up with my Mom to pick up Avery from preschool so me and Ella went to speech like every Tuesday morning then we stayed and volunteered for a few hours. It was long but Ella did great! We were helping distribute birthday books to all kids whose birthday was in January & July (Brayden was in that group) Ella took her job of stamping all the books very seriously and it was the cutest thing ever to see her and Brayden interact. Why can't they act that lovey all the time?

Friday night Brayden and I joined my MIL, SIL and several others to see the local performance of Le Miserab. Those HS students could sing! I was amazed by all the music!

Saturday was Disney on Ice with Ella and her bestie - we had so much fun and our seats were awesome!

Saturday night we took the kids to the Gameworks and it was crazy busy, like never going there again on a Saturday night busy. The kids had fun and we got home around 9:30 and everyone went right to bed, myself included.

Sunday I went to lunch for my friends birthday and it was alot of fun. Girls only is always fun :)  After lunch a few of us went out for another drink and I didn't get home until 4:30. I helped Ella with her homework assignment, made the kids dinner and just relaxed. I felt like I had no time to relax at home this weekend so next weekend, that's exactly what I'll be doing!

*linking up with BLovedBoston & The Sirois Family

Friday Favorites {1.26.18}

*this post contains affiliate links


How in the world is this the last Friday of January?! This month has FLOWN by and I'm not really a fan, time please slow down!!

We have a super fun weekend ahead but for now let's check out some favorites of the week

{ONE} - The Greatest Showman

Guys, I just cannot stop talking about this movie! We saw it last weekend and all of us agree that we want to go see it again! (although we'll probably just wait for it to come to blu-ray) - We are all obsessed with the music too and when I saw the CD dropped in price, I had to grab!!

{TWO} - New Favorite Red Wine

I randomly bought this red wine at Trader Joe's last week, I think it was $6 and for that I figured it would just be ok, but it's actually REALLY good! A new fave for sure!

{THREE} - Daddy/Daughter Dance

The Daddy/Daughter dance is coming up next month so I'm on the hunt for a dress for Ella. Unfortunately Avery isn't old enough to join yet which is a bummer because I know she wants to go so badly! Anyway, I saw these dresses and for the price and free returns, hopefully one will work. Which do you like better?

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{FOUR} - Tips for trying to lose some weight

Earlier this week I shared some things I'm doing to shed a few pounds - it's seriously not that easy! If you want to read it, go here and check it out :)

{FIVE} - Rockstar Jeans

Ok, all I keep hearing is how awesome Old Navy's Rockstar jeans are. So who has them? Are they that great? Which ones are better? (there's so many!!) Mama needs a new pair of jeans!

I'm off to start our day - errands and cleaning are on our to-do list (fun stuff 😜) Happy Weekend!

Linking up with:

Momfessionals

Carolina Charm

Ways I'm Trying to Lose Weight

I've been talking so much about saving money and budgeting lately that I thought I would switch gears.

Another little fun fact about me is that I LOVE food. Like seriously, I LOVE it. I was that kid who ate everything! My sister still makes fun of me to this day for being a kid and ordering a hot dog with everything, a bowl of chili, cheese fries and a tamale when we would go to the local hot dog joint. I also may have been that 5yr old kid at the public pool who could eat 2 chili cheese dogs #noshame

What I'm trying to say is that I've always had a love for food and that love has only grown the older I've become. I am probably the least pickiest eater you will ever meet and now that I know how to (and really enjoy) cook, I overindulge ALOT of the times. I have no idea what portion control means and if I don't eat seconds I must be sick.

Despite my crazy eating habits and thinking I was "fat" when I was in HS - I've managed to maintain a pretty decent weight over the years. That is all finally catching up to me now. I knew I was gaining a little weight here and there but now it's to the point where I'm looking in the mirror and I'm not happy. I know some people would disagree with that, but this is how I truly feel. I am not happy in my own skin and I'm starting to become super self conscious even around my hubby.  This is the year I get my eating habits under control and really lose the weight I've put on the past couple of years and here's how I'm doing it

* Tracking my food

I started using the My Fitness Pal app last January and I was doing so good with it until I had surgery in March - then I totally fell off the wagon of tracking. I noticed myself gaining weight once I didn't continue back with the tracking and it was a downhill battle ever since. Now I'm back in the swing of it and it's really helping


*Increased Work Outs

I've always worked out, probably more than ever just in the past few years (I had to to keep up with all the eating and my slowed metabolism 😂) but now I'm upping my game even more. I use to work out 5 days a week but now I'm aiming for 7, but no less than 6. I work out at home and either do 30 minutes of running on the treadmill + sit ups or a 30 minute total body work out with weights. I'm hoping by adding 1-2 more days this will help


*Meal Planning

I do my grocery shopping on Monday mornings so I only have one kid in tow. That means I sit down Sunday afternoon and plan out our meals for the week. I've also started meal planning my breakfast and lunch which I wasn't doing before. Monday is also my day to prep my food. If I'm having my cauliflower soup for lunch for the week, I make it that day. I also make lots of breakfast cups for myself and hubby - this is just whatever I decide to throw in. Eggs, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, breakfast sausage etc. I feel like if I meal plan and have all my meals accounted for, then I should be eating better.


*Not Eating Past 6pm

This has been the hardest one for me because I LOVE me some late night snacking while watching my shows. I'm allowing myself 1 cheat night though, for The Bachelor. Plus my snack isn't that bad, it's air-popped popcorn and maybe a piece or 2 of dark chocolate.


So there you have it, a few things I'm doing to *hopefully* shed a few pounds. Not being comfortable in my skin really bothers me. However, the second someone puts a cheeseburger in my face, those thoughts disappear. LOL. So really, self control is the biggest thing I'm working on!



*linking up with Jessi's Design & Lindsays Sweet World

Weekly Recap {1.23.18}

I feel like I should call this "the week of snow" because we did so much playing in it! We are all bummed that it melted away this weekend.

Let's look back at what we were up to

Monday the kids were off for MLK day and we had fresh snow so we went sledding!! It was alot of fun and I've never seen the hill so busy! We came home, made hot chocolate and hung out.

Ha ha Ella's face!

Tuesday after Speech, Ella and I headed to the library for their fun STEM class.  We crafted snowflakes, played with real snow and even made snow blizzards in mason jars!

I had everything in the car to go sledding right after getting Avery from preschool. It worked out perfect because the big sledding hill we go to is behind their preschool.  The girls had a total blast sledding once again and Ella's bestie and her Dad even met up with us.

2 very excited girls to go sledding!

 

I laugh so hard when they go down - They lay back in the sleds and they look like missiles shooting down

 

 Ella is such a snowbunny - she would not stop sledding! She must have said "just one more time" about 15 times!! This is her heading back up as we're heading to the car LOL. Don't worry, we stayed and waited for her

And this is how far Miss A got all on her own! It might not look far in the pic, but she was almost in the parking lot - haha!

My lunch for the week consisted of my healthy "baked potato" cauliflower soup - it's seriously sooooooo good!

Wednesday I took Miss A to the library for story/craft time while Ella was in school. Later in the day we played a game with dot markers + dice that Stephanie inspired me to do.  I need to do this more with Avery because she is not a fan of learning but this was so fun that she had a blast!

 

 

Thursday I did some chores around the house and hung with Ella. After getting Avery at school we went to the store to pick Brayden up a new sled (I accidentally broke his trying to sled with him LOL) We got one and headed home for lunch, quiet time and naps.

When Brayden got off the bus I surprised him and told him we were going sledding! He instantly got sad and said he forgot his snow pants and boots at school. We improvised with 2 pair of pants and rain boots - and it worked! We checked out a new hill that another parent told me about and it was awesome! We will for sure be going back there

 My whole world walking up that hill :)

Thursday night is when Ella woke up throwing up and it continued into Friday. She had to stay home from school and we all just kind of hung around the house like zombies. I did manage to get Miss A outside and entertain her for a little while Ella rested.

 

Brayden & Rick actually had a super fun night planned though! For Christmas, one of Brayden's gifts was a sleepover at the Museum of Science & Industry in the city. We set it up so his buddy and his Dad were going too. They all headed downtown around 3:30 and they had SO MUCH FUN! The hubby was extremely tired the next day since he said there were some super loud snorers and the ground was hard, but that it was a blast! 

Me and Miss A made a homemade pizza for dinner and Ella just sipped her ginger ale, poor girl!

 

Unfortunately Saturday morning right before they were heading home, Brayden threw up.  He didn't throw up again but he wasn't feeling good. He missed his basketball game and we all chilled then later at night everyone seemed good so we grabbed some pizza.

Sunday we went and saw The Greatest Showman and OMG see it if you haven't already! I cannot say enough good things. Hugh Jackman is my new celebrity crush :)

The rest of the day was spent playing games, lounging around. The boys headed to baseball practice at 5:30 and I spent the rest of the night with the girls and putting them to bed.

*linking up with BLovedBoston & The Sirois Family