Foodie Friday

 I actually cooked THREE times this week! WOW!  I think that is a record as of lately!  Monday night, we had some friends over and I threw together a yummy (and easy) dinner!  We had grilled chicken tenderloins, parmesan asparagus, and au gratin potatoes.  

It was DELICIOUS!  With the asparagus, I just put them on a cookie sheet, drizzled some olive oil on them, sprinkled a little salt and pepper, and then sprinkled parmesan cheese (more than a sprinkle, really) on them.  Then I baked them at 350 for 15 minutes.  YUM!  Thanks, Pinterest!

And Katherine made some DELICIOUS cupcakes - so I had to take a picture...even though it came out slightly blurry.  She left them here with us and we have enjoyed them all week! 

My other two cooking ventures this week involved pasta - super easy!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

It was just gorgeous yesterday and Katie wanted to wear a new outfit that I just LOVE.  So you know what that means? Picture time!  We also ran a lot of errands, but I did manage to get a few that I like!

With spring officially on us, everything is continuing to bloom.  Before we went to our last music class, I wanted to get some of these pretty blooms in a picture with the little lady.  She was not too thrilled about pictures at this point, but here are a few I managed to get.

 Katie is also fascinated with trains and train tracks!  I have been wanting to take her picture on some train tracks for quite some time, so we decided yesterday was as good of a time as any.  And yes, we were careful.  Katie thought that since we were there, we would also get to see a train.  I had to work really hard to get her to get in the car to leave!  Here are a few pics from our adventure...

I think the last 3 are my favorite.  Or maybe 4. Ha. I don't know - I just love that she was actually willing to cooperate! Her eyes are open.  And she is smiling.  Yay! I consider that a success for sure.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! Whew - at times it feels like this week is crawling, and then at other times it feels like it is flying by!  Here's what I'm loving today...

I'm LOVING having fresh flowers on the kitchen island.  I treated myself and found these beauties at Whole Foods.  They still look just as good as when I bought them! 

 I'm LOVING that I finally got myself a pair of Toms.  And I LOVE the color I found them in - doesn't it just scream spring/summer!?  I have to admit I haven't worn them yet - I need to put them actually in the closet (as opposed to the kitchen) for when I'm getting ready!

 I'm LOVING that Katie talks about Baby Jack more and more...and she loves to feel and see if he is moving!  I know this is blurry, but I love it :)

I'm LOVING planning Miss Priss's 3rd birthday party.  Hm - how can it already be time for her to have a birthday...and to be turning THREE!!? Wow.  We finally decided on this guy for the theme.  And I am in full party-planning mode, though I'm trying not to go nuts since I will be large pregnant at that time.

I'm LOVING this quote I found on Pinterest.  I'm not this bad, but Brad would say I'm getting close...ha!  I never realized how much I like personalized goodies until I had Katie (that's my story and I'm sticking to it)!

 I'm LOVING this subway art I found on Pinterest as well.  Isn't that great?! I think I am going to get it printed and hang it in the kids' bathroom.

I'm LOVING this sweet girl, of course.  And my oh my it seems like she grows and changes everyday.  I've heard quotes and things about having children means having your heart walk around outside your body.  I can totally understand why people say that. 

What are you loving today? Or this week? Let me know! Or better yet, link up {here}!

Quick Girls' Trip

Last week I tagged along with a friend and her coworker to Atlanta just for a night.  It was great to just get away and have girl time and relax and shop and read...you get the point.  Brad had taken off work Thursday and Friday anyway, so it worked out just lovely.  We got our nails done, we went shopping, ate a late delicious dinner, slept in a little bit...so nice.  When we arrived, we headed straight to Ikea.  Let's just say they were glad that I came shopping that day!  Then we quickly went to the hotel and checked in and changed clothes so we could head to dinner.

The steakhouse where we ate dinner, STK, was so neat!  This was the wall above our table.

And a picture of us girls after we ate.  I felt quite frumpy next to both of these pretty girls!

 Tanja made fun of me - I require a LOT of pillows to get comfortable.  I had to get 4 more from the front desk! She used 2 of these and I had the rest :)

 The next day we got up and ate brunch and they headed on their way for a presentation.  I was able to do some shopping at H&M and get a few things from Bath & Body Works that I needed.  And then I sat on a park bench and people watched and listened to some music and read my book.  Perfection!  And aren't these flowers beautiful?!  They were next to where I was sitting.

Tanja picked me up and we headed home - it was just so great to get away and chat...and be able to go to the bathroom by myself! HA!  I'm so glad she thought to ask me if I wanted to go...I felt refreshed and rejuvenated when I got home - and boy, did I miss my sweet girl...and Brad too! :)

Weekend Recap

What a fun weekend!  And super productive (not me - others people...but at my house!)  Saturday, we made sure to wear our green!  Brad worked hard in Jack's nursery with the help of Cat and Tyler - maybe it was more Cat and Tyler worked hard with the help of Brad.  Anyways, that will be a whole different post.

My job was keeping Katie out of the way.  We went to meet my mom for lunch and had a great time!  I ordered our food and saw these cookies and knew we had to have them.

 Katie was definitely glad I ordered some - they were so yummy!

After lunch, it started raining, so we just went to Cee Cee's house and played.  My mom would hide plastic eggs and let Katie practice doing Easter egg hunts!  We had to wait in my mom's room while she hid - Katie loved it!

 She found some! I love this picture.

 And here we are waiting for another round of the hunt!

 I need to dig out our Easter stuff - I am fairly certain Katie would hunt eggs all day she loved it so much!

 One of the eggs had a sticker inside from last year - I love that I caught this expression! Look at that excitement!

 Yesterday Brad finished up some of the project in Jack's room, so Katie and I did some playing outside.  She loves sidewalk chalk, so we drew a road on the sidewalk for her to let her car drive on - she loved it!

 And then we played with the rice bin and poured it on our hands and hid her car in the rice...so fun!  Isn't this picture just priceless?!  I just love this girl so much!

And last night, Katie was awake for a while and I went back to tuck her in again.  I said, "Mommy loves you so much!  You make mommy so happy."  And then Katie said, "I love you so much.  You're the best Mommy ever!"  I definitely teared up.  Great way to end the weekend!  Happy Monday!

Baby Boy's Name: The Details

I thought it might be good to say why we picked the name we did.  Are they family names? Do we just like them?  Is it our best friend's name? Is it our long lost cousin's name?  Is it the cashier at our grocery store's name? (OK, I'll stop with that - you get the point)

Let's start with the first name: Jack.  No we will not name him Jackson.  Or anything else.  We both just really like Jack.  And that is the main reason.  It also happens to sort of be a family name on my side.  My grandmother on my mom's side had a brother (that she was really close to) named Jack.  And my grandmother on my dad's side - her maiden name was Jackson.  So there ya have it.  It is kind of a combo of reasons (though we initially picked it just because we really like it).  Plus, how cute does it sound to say our kids' names are Katie and Jack??! 

As for the middle name, that was the point of contention.  Well, maybe contention isn't the right word, but that is definitely where it took us a while to agree.  Brad liked Owen - while I do like that (in fact, that is what my grandfather on my dad's side goes by!), I could not handle having his initials be JOC and people calling him "joc" (jock).  I just don't like that.  William is a family name on both sides - it was Brad's dad's name, and it is my grandfather, dad, and brother's first name (though they all go by different names).  And I think it just sounds so great together.  Jack William.  Love it!  And clearly I convinced Brad. 

And I found this idea on Pinterest - isn't that adorable?! I must do this.  Maybe more than once.

Baby Boy's Name Reveal

I wanted to wait until we were 100% on a name before "going public" with it, and I think we are finally there!  The middle name is what was causing a bit of an issue, but I am fairly certain I have Brad on board now :)  And thank goodness since I've already gotten the initials monogrammed on a hooded towel! HA!

 Of course it has to have dots.  But they are brown.  And the initials are blue.  That makes it more "boy-ish," right?? :)

Jack William C******
We can't wait to meet you, sweet boy!  You already have so many people that love you, but especially your Momma and Daddy and Big Sister!

Foodie Friday: Grilling Time!

All I have to say is that I am SUPER happy that the weather is nice enough to start grilling!  This was our first grilling of the season - and it was great!  I do enjoy cooking, but I also like being able to prep (AKA marinate some chicken and cut up veggies and marinate them as well) and let Brad do the grilling! Since the time change, we have played outside some at night - wears Katie out (especially since she also plays outside during the day)!  Our neighbors came over for dinner Tuesday night, and I decided grilling would be the best option. 

Here is the griller extraordinaire!

 And here is what we had!  A salad kid (delicious!), grilled chicken that had been in caribbean jerk marinade, grilled zucchini and squash that had some Dale's on it, and then some mashed potatoes that I had gotten (you just microwave them - easy peasy!  I think they were the brand Simply Potatoes).

I cleaned my plate and probably could've gone back for more.  But I saved some room for a little Klondike bar!  It's only 100 calories - the perfect size!

Can't wait to do more grilling through the spring and summer...we really need to remember that grilling is easy and fun!

More Katie-isms

• Katie was putting lotion on my belly and she hits me right at belly button level.  She got closer, put an eye up to my belly button, and she said, "I see you in there!"
• Whenever I get ready, she always says, "Mommy, you look pretty!" or "Mommy, you look cute!"
• Katie has officially figured out how to put Sadie's leash on her.  The other day, she did just that and walked her around the house.  Sadie looked very pleased!
• Brad was reading a book to Katie and was reading really fast.  Katie made him stop and said, "Daddy, read that book nicely!"
• Brad was using the dustbuster in my car to clean it out and Katie was trying to climb into the driver's seat (likely to honk the horn) and he asked her to go back in the house.  She came inside and told me that Daddy was being ugly.  
• The other morning I was getting Katie's breakfast ready and one of her favorite books (at least as of this week) was on the table.  To my surprise, she opened it up and started reading it.  Like word for word!  I am sure she has it memorized and recognizes the pictures, but STILL!  I was majorly impressed!
• When asking "why" (which she does with a lot of frequency these days), it sounds like more of a "why-er" - Brad was trying to explain to her that it is like the letter "y" and then we figured out why Katie says it this way...when saying the alphabet, it is "y and z"...so when Katie says "why", it really sounds more like "wire!"
• Katie had a blister on her foot from playing outside and not wearing socks with her shoes.  I pointed to it and told her she had a blister and she repeated back that she had a "bitcher" - I guess that is appropriate... :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy, happy Wednesday, folks!  It is the middle of the week, so it is time for a little What I'm Loving Wednesday!  

I'm LOVING the sunshine and warm temps!  Come on spring - hope you're here to stay!!  I also am enjoying the time change - as long as we don't have to be anywhere.  I had to go wake Katie up this morning at 8:15! And it also means it is still daylight longer into the evening - more time to play outside!!

I'm LOVING that I am finally getting into The Hunger Games.  I typically don't get into "trendy reads" but thought I'd give this a try.  Plus a friend let me borrow the whole series.  I actually finished the book last night and can't wait to start the second one!  In the meantime, I did start Jane Green's new book - it was released yesterday, so that was perfect timing!

I'm LOVING this quote!  And it is oh so true.

I'm LOVING these cute polka dot cup Easter baskets!  I think Katie and I may have to make these sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Want to see the tutorial?  Go {here}! - It's also one of my fave places to get party supplies.  Why you ask?  Because everything has dots, of course!!

I'm LOVING this list of songs!  I have no idea who TFM & Frat Music is, but I saw it posted on Facebook and just love it...go ahead, click on it.  What is your favorite??? Me? I don't know - I love a bunch of them!  Of course, Sweet Home Alabama holds a special place in my heart having gone to Auburn and everything :)  But really, it is way hard to decide!

And of COURSE, I'm LOVING my sweet girl! She is just growing up way too fast - is it possible that she will be 3 in just over a month?!

What are YOU loving today? Feel free to link up {here}!