Meal Plan Monday - eat clean -

Sunday; Shepard's Pie Loaded Baked Potato (I added mushrooms, kale, and spinach to the mix)

Monday; Ginger Cranberry Pork Roast in the slow cooker
Tuesday; leftovers
Wednesday; Sausage Kale Soup and cheese biscuits found here

Thursday; leftovers
Friday; Pasta and meatballs
Saturday; grilled fish, squash, and sweet potatoes

lunches are salads with all the veggies, no nitrate lunch meat, fruits and almond butter or plain almonds
breakfasts are leftover pancakes, oatmeal, eggs and veggie scrambles
snacks? yogurt and dark chocolate


linked up at meal plan monday at orgjunkie.com - if you're stopping by, thanks! we eat clean about 90% of the time here...and sometimes I share recipes and sometimes I'm busy living life with my two kiddos and wonderful husband plus training for our first full marathon in April. :-)

Straight from the Husband - Wedded Bliss Link-Up

This week's Wedded Bliss Wednesday Link up gave the husbands a chance to write about their wives. My husband is really, really busy right now, tying up his current position in California--and preparing to drive across the country. We are in separate places, taking care of separate pieces of our lives, so this week's 'assignment' took on a special meaning. It warmed my heart to read his answers this week. I haven't seen him since Sunday, and while we are both busy, I certainly miss him. I appreciate him taking time to sincerely answer the questions; it's nice to have them recorded :-) I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

What was the first thing you noticed about your wife?
Honestly, I noticed her being in my way. Without going into the whole story, I think the first thought I had was “What is this chick doing here?” I soon came to realize that she was not in my way at all, but put there to show me a whole new world. We talked all through the night and she called me out and challenged me in ways no one ever had. We still continue to challenge each other to this day and I would be lost without her.

When you first started dating your wife, what kept you calling/asking her out?
Her most unique personality, quirky humor, and {our} uncanny similar views on life. From the start it seemed like we had the same plan and goals. We have complementing personalities, skills, and views.

What is your wife's best quality?
Her ability to succeed in everything she does. She does everything wholeheartedly with nothing left to chance. I admire her motivation and work ethic. (She is also a great cook----Don’t take it from me, just ask my co-workers, friends, and family)

What is your favorite thing to do with your wife (ahem, keep it clean!)?
Try new things. I am lucky to be able to have someone that enjoys the things I do and is with me to experience them.

What are you most excited for in the future with your wife? 
Currently I am most excited to settle into our new house and make it a home. We are currently both living out of a suitcase/suitcases and staying 30 hours apart. We will be back together soon with a whole new life to start.

How do you make your wife feel loved?
Talk about my thoughts and feelings. She knows that I do not share much with anyone, and when I share my thoughts and feelings she knows that she is pretty much the only one that gets that from me. The non-material things are always fun to give and receive to show love, but the best things in life are free.

Date Night ~ Wedded Bliss Link Up

How often do you and your husband have a date night?
This question is open to interpretation, in my mind. Perhaps the askers meant it to be that way, because most married-with-children people know that a date night is not all about wearing heels and make-up, and being waited on at some fancy restaurant. I can count on one hand the number of "date-nights" that went like that. That's okay, though, because we enjoy doing things as a family--or count non-typical things as date night. My hope is that we can have a few more real "date nights" now that we are moving back closer to family...and I'm not so intimidated by hiring a babysitter--though the free family type is much better. I hope to aim for once a month, though that might not happen until baby boy is a few months old. A fun note--we have never left her alone for a night; though my husband has gone away on business sometimes. I mentioned to him just last week that for the past nearly 20 months, I have seen G every.day, and vise versa. I haven't decided if that's a good or bad thing.

What did you do on your first date?
Figured out I was going to marry him. Honestly, though, our real first date almost never happened because he was too "scared" about falling in love with me...by the grace of God he agreed to take me out. ;-)
I met him at a Sprint store (he needed a new phone, since he ran over his last one), where I learned that he was still on the phone plan with his ex-crazy-girlfriend, so that was fun. Then we went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, where we actually ordered the same thing, except my steak was 2 oz smaller. Then we drove around, talking and listening to music. Then he took me to this little pond, that was definitely not a public pond, and we were looking at the stars when he leaned over to kiss me and, I kid you not, it started sprinkling and lightning. He also picked me some wildflowers that I kept for over a year. Yeah, movie magic x 10. He used to be a real romantic. sigh

What is your favorite kind of date night?
Honestly, the kind where I do get dressed up, wear potentially dangerous shoes, and don't forget to put on lipstick (I own one color, lol). Also, the kind of date night where my husband says...you know what? Let's get an appetizer, drinks, entree, AND spring for dessert :-)
I do love movie theater dates, but my favorite would be the kind where we actually do or experience something.

How do you do date night on a budget?
Lately, our only date nights are putting G to bed and eating dinner on our living room floor while watching a show or movie. Occasionally, we'll do something dorky like a Sudoku, logic puzzle, or crossword puzzle together instead of vegging in front of the TV. For date nights out--groupons/living social coupons and family donated babysitting time!

What is the best kind of date your husband could surprise you with?! 
Specifically--an overnight away from the toddler before baby boy comes. It could be the same town, that's fine, but a night in a hotel with some other fun activity too, like dinner or bowling or hint*melting pot*hint....or something else that's a big surprise. He knows me :-)

My husband ~ Wedded Bliss Link Up

Table for More and Life After... are hosting a new Wednesday linkup: Wedded Bliss Wednesday.I've clearly been slacking on Wordless Wednesdays (re:blogging in general), so I suppose I'll join in this fun...on a Friday... haha

Chances are, your readers know all about you! But what about your husband? Lets give our men the spotlight this week and introduce the blog world to your other half! 

nearly 4 years ago!

Introduce us to your husband! (What's his name? How old? What does he look like?)
His name has never been revealed on my blog, because he thinks it's too public, and I respect that. I'll suffice it to say it starts with a J. I actually call him Fred more often. I've explained it before, but it's because once when we were dating I said, 'ready freddy?' and he said, 'who's this fred person!?' It's stuck ever since. I actually say it without thinking now, in place of his real name. It's awkward in front of other people, sometimes, because they must think I'm crazy, calling him a totally random name! LOL
He's 24.7--a full year and a month younger than me, which was totally out of character for me to date a younger guy.
He looks like me, only in guy form. HAHA...seriously though, I feel like we look like we belong together. He's about 6 inches taller than me, blonde hair, blue eyes, average build.
My husband is my partner in life, and we truly did become one when we got married. We are absolute soul mates. Any one around us would agree, there's no one better suited. You can read more about our story (And how we got married at 20/21, while still in college) here. (if you haven't read it, please do...I love inspiring others with out love story)

What does your husband do Monday-Friday? 
More like Monday-Saturday, since we've been in California, I can count on my fingers the number of 'full' weekends we've had. My husband is an electrical engineer for a power construction company. He has been an estimator and a field engineer. He looks at electrical design drawings and makes them happen in real life (through the labor of union electricians). Basically, he's smart about power and things. His days have been long on this job site, and it's taken a toll on his stress and health (IMO), so I'm looking forward to more regular hours when we move back to Kansas and prepare for baby boy. Since my husband plans to take a decent amount of paternity leave, it's better for him to do that in the office anyways, since he's more expendable there.

What was the FIRST thing you noticed about your husband when you met?
His SUPER shaggy blonde hair. He looks back at pictures and wonders what he was thinking....I do too, LOL. Looks are only a small part of the attraction picture, and I'm glad I gave him a chance, because it turns out he was mostly just too cheap to pay for a hair cut. Funny story.... about a month before our wedding I basically "incepted" (as in, made him think it was his idea ;-) )that he needed to get a hair cut.

What is your husband's BEST quality? 
He is patient to a fault, if that's possible. My worst quality? I'm impatient and get anxiety when things can't happen right away. We completely balance each other out. I have ALWAYS admired his patience. He doesn't get caught up on little things, takes the 'wait and see' approach, and calms my nerves. He can do things that I would typically curse at, without breaking a sweat. Another way of looking at his best quality is that he LOVES me. Because I am often in a hurry, or don't like to wait, or get flustered at things that take patience....he deals with that in a way no one else could. He is my perfect match in all aspects of life and I love him even more for it. Oh, and he's a great dad and truly appreciates all that I do as a SAHM :-)

What is your husband's biggest pet peeve? 
Not much! Probably the Kardashians.
Sometimes our daughter's whining or screaming gets to him, despite his patience, he's admitted she can unnerve him (though it's gotten better as we've both gotten used to it)

How does your husband feel about blogging? 
He likes it as long as it doesn't stress me out, or I don't get too 'personal.' He loves the 'free' things I've gotten through it, or when I get sponsored posts. I think we both like blogging a lot more, now that I've reduced the amount of time I spend on it. Before we moved, I spent way too much time trying to grow it into something huge...but that's just not for me right now, mostly because I don't want to pay to get it followers, and I certainly don't network like I 'should.'
He likes that it makes me happy to write and share stories.

What is something you do/can do that makes your husband feel loved?
Rub his feet. LOL
Make his lunch, watch shows that I don't typically enjoy, let him help me (re: ask him to do something that I'd normally take on when I already have a lot going on)

Seven Quick Takes Friday ...err Saturday

Better late than never???

1) G started saying 'no-no' yesterday. Geeerreat! I honestly hoped/planned to make it to kindergarten before she learned the word. She knows what 'no' means, and generally respects it....but apparently she gets to use it herself now! Prior to today, she would simply shake her head to indicate she didn't like or want to do something. I could handle that, it was silent :-)
I LOL'd the first time she said it because it was so darn cute--momma mistake, I know, because know she loves saying it!

2) We made a super cool ramp for the few cars and trucks G has. It was so fun and she squealed the first time we put the vehicles down it--I'm proud of myself for coming up with a great idea to recycle the big box her Mega Bloks learning table came in (post to come about all the awesome stuff the sent us). It's the simple things in life :-)

3) This week was not so kind to a pregnant momma. First, there are two private stressors I've been dealing with. Then G slept miserably one night (as in, took two hours of screaming and then me holding her hand through the crib rails and 'shushing' her for 30 minutes + woke up from 3 -5 am to repeat the same process). I guess it was related to the runny nose she had for two days--I imagine she might have had a sore throat prior to it appearing, as adults get too. She's working on canines, so that's fun. Then yesterday I woke up to a seriously, I'll spare you the details I shared on my facebook, gross vomit attack in her crib. Suffice it to say it was everywhere and she went straight to the bath tub. I guess I'm thankful for my strong stomach. Then I'm feeling all down today...It's a sunny Saturday, but I can't shake the mood. Thankfully I'm attempting a choco-pick-me-up. Prayers appreciated.

4) Big Announcement....We are moving back to Kansas-----PRAISE GOD. Not that I hate it here or anything, in fact; the Bay Area is quite lovely (albeit expensive), but I certainly can't wait:

• to get back closer to family + friends
• snow in the winter (I really would have missed that)
• my comfort zone with most things
• cheaper prices
• have my husband around more
• oh, and Hy-Vee + Aldi

What's the number one thing I'll miss about CA?? Our gym. Hilarious, right? That play center is to.die.for. G absolutely loves it, the girls there love her, I love them, she has a ball, ugh...sad day. I'm going to miss letting her play there for an hour a day, 5 days a week. She's going to miss it.
I won't miss much else. I feel like we have been-there-done-that, with the big things in the Bay Area, especially after our mini-vacation to Lake Tahoe next week. Oh, I did miss out on Wine Country...but can't help that, I'm pregnant.

5) That should explain my extreme absence this week, minus the sponsored post for Famous Footwear's B2S sale. We've been house hunting online & trying to get ducks in a row for buying our first home. WHAT? So exciting, I KNOW! Realtor, check. Lender, check. Favorites list, check. Flights/car/sleeping arrangements for our house hunting weekend over Labor Day, check. For all the negative things this week, one major positive. Rejoice!

6) My sister sent baby boy + G some awesome Carter's clothes this week. It was a TOTAL surprise, and I'm really shocked she could keep it that way for so long! She said she ordered them on August 8...so I'm really impressed with her secrecy! It was so fun to open packages of adorable little boy clothes--plus two shirts for G. I kept saying 'oh my goodness!' like I was on Ellen or something, lol... Thank you boo!!!!!

7) This morning on our way back from the grocery store, G briefly closed her eyes while at a stop light, all sprawled out.... exhibit a)

To see more quick takes, head over to ConversionDiary.com

Gender Announcement #WW #Linky

BABY BOY!!!! For his sake, the XY photo shall remain off the internet, so you get a beautiful picture of his face at 20 weeks--in 4D no less! His hand is up by his eye, and his other arm was moving a lot, so there is a swirl on the right side of the photo.

here you can see baby boy's face, covered by his arms --and a foot peeking in too! What an acrobat!

We are so excited to welcome our first son into our family this holiday season :-)

If you have a wordless Wednesday Post, please link up below!

Cheesecake Day Wordless Wednesday #WW I#linky

My sister came to visit us, so we had to pick her up at the airport today. We made a day of it by going to the outlet mall for a tiny bit of shopping (got G the cutest shirt and shorts) and then running to the Cheesecake Factory for their national 'Cheesecake Day' celebration extension (1/2 price slice through a facebook promotion). The only bummer was I forgot my credit card at the Cheesecake Factory--bummmmmeeerrr! Also, G took forever to fall asleep because her nap was so late.
Here are a few photos:

camera phone pic of the NEW Oreo Dream Cheesecake - ahmazing

even G got some & said, 'mmmmmmmm!'

I forgot her cup in the car, so this worked for a little bit, but my sister did run to get her cup eventually

If you have a WW post this week, please link up below!!

Fashion & Service Wordless Wednesday #linky

If you are friends with my personal FB page, you may have seen this already... but here is my little Fashionista :-) Eat your heart out Katy Perry! My dad already noted her farmer's tan...poor thing.

And here she is delivering cookies to our neighboors...on a more normal dress day :-)

Songs that Mean Love to Me {right now}

Betty Beguiles, a blog I occasionally see (mostly due to Mandi @ Catholic Newlywed), is doing a link-up for your love song playlist. I should be blogging about being 15 weeks pregnant (because #2 deserves the same pregnancy memories as #1), but because I recently found a new favorite song that is absolutely adorable and full of love, I must join in this link-up! I hope you will check out my songs below and also the other lists linked up! My list might be a little less traditional for 'love' songs, but it's songs that make me think of my husband, our past, our future, and our present.

So, my new favorite song is Josh Turner's Find Me A Baby. I don't think it's released yet, it's on his latest album. Here is a fan youtube video (song + lyrics). Seriously...I could listen to it all day. LOVE LOVE LOVE

Father's Day & G's First FroYo #WW #Linky

I know I'm a bit late on Father's Day...still catching up... but I just had to share this photo of my amazing husband and our little girl on his day.

I can't even begin to describe how great of a father he is to G. He shows her fun little tricks and teaches her things I wouldn't have ever thought to do with her. He doesn't mind getting into the dirt with her and plans to teach her to fish. They laugh and play together whenever he has time. Until recently, he was the sole bath giver / bed time get-her-ready-er. He changes diapers, even smelly ones. He cleans up messes and sits with her on the potty for 20 minutes. He pushes her in her pink stroller. He reads her stories and snuggles her on the couch. He will get up to soothe her in the middle of the night if I ask. And one of the best things he does for her...he drops everything the second he gets home to pick her up, hug her, and make her feel important. He doesn't ask for a minute to breathe, or act flustered by his long 12 hour day. He's a great dad because he puts her needs before his--and that's kind of rare in this day and age. I love him immensely for it.

Seven Quick Takes

1. I made the most delicious smelling Banana Bread today (err, Thursday). It's not the usual recipe (which you can find here), but it's going to be absolutely scrumptious at dessert and breakfast :-)
G loves bananas (what baby doesn't?), I'm pregnant & love carbs, and my husband loves a quick and easy breakfast. Win-Win-Win!

2. I recently (as in today) posted a review/giveaway for CatholicFamilyGifts.com -- If you are here from the 7QT link-up; I know you need some good Catholic Gifts to give any time of year, so head over and read the review / enter the giveaway!

3. Do you know how hard it is to get a good photo of a 16 month old??? VERY! A. they never want to sit still and B. they want whatever you have (re: the camera) and C. their smiles are only ever genuine, so you wish you had a camera permanently affixed to your head to catch all the little moments. (When does saying "Smile!!" start to work?)
I bring this up because I really want to enter G's photo into Live! with Kelly's cutest baby photo contest. I, personally, know she is the cutest baby everrrrrr, so it'd be lovely to win a free trip, cruise, and potentially new car (if she could beat out the 'big kid' winner). I wish it were a cutest kid in general contest, not a photo contest. If they could meet my little buttercup, they would surely know she's got personality to fill the ocean and spunk to the stars.
{For all the "complaining" or "telling it how it is" I do, you can handle a little doting, every now and then ;-) }

"I Don't Know!" #WW #Linky

G's cutest thing, according to my husband, is when she says "I Don't Know!"
On Saturday, she was chasing some birds at the Discovery Museum, and when they went away from her, she let us know..."I don't know where they are going!"

If you have a Wordless Wednesday blog post, please link up below!

Seven Quick Takes Friday 23

--- 1 ---

My husband gets back late tonight, er, very early Saturday morning from a short business trip. I've never been home alone with G. The other time he had a business trip, we went to my parents because it was a week long. Another trip, we went with him. So it was very weird to be without him, or anyone else, at night.

New Camera Food Photos #WW #Linky

If you've read my recent posts, you've probably seen that the quality of my photos has increased significantly. My camera that I got for Mother's Day is AWESOME!!! I've always been a food photographer...but now I can better reflect the delicious items we see and taste.

Fresh CA cherries

Dirt: Wordless Wednesday #linky

Until recently, G wasn't interested in mud or dirt. She seemed pretty content to play in the grass and pick up leaves or smell flowers. All of a sudden, dirt is her new favorite exploration site. There's not much I can do to stop it, aside from keeping her indoors...so I just let her go......

Contra Loma Reservoir Regional Park #WW #linky

On Sunday, we headed out for a little walk in nature. There's a great hiking area near us called Black Diamond Mines Regional Park, but we opted for the less-intimidating-sounding-but-also-nearby park that features a trail around a public water supply reservoir. Contra means opposite and Loma means hill...so as you might imagine, there were some beautiful rolling hills around us.

very peaceful

Menu Plan Monday

My husband got off a little early on Friday, so he met G and I at the grocery store. It was really fun to do our shopping with Daddy and G loved him pushing her around. I loved checking out with all of our great stuff under budget :-) Two weeks in a row I have gotten a ridiculous amount of stuff but saved a lot of money. The bagger even asked if we had a large family at home...I just replied I like to stock up on staples when they are on sale :-) I saved nearly 50% and we've been eating great!

We're still loving our grill, so there's not much going on in the oven lately. I'm perfectly fine by that...and it makes clean up a lot nicer too!

Spaghetti!! #WW #Linky

G had her first experience with spaghetti with sauce last week. She has had plain noodles or cheesy noodles on several occasions, but definitely loved the tomato sauce!

love it :-)

Link up below if you have a photo post today!

Menu Plan Monday

In addition to being in the black on our food budget this month, we bought a grill! We ate SO good last night. I seriously start salivating thinking about how delicious our first grill meal was. We had Farmer's Market Zucchini (which G absolutely loved), pork chops, sweet white corn with peppers and onions....and box shells & cheese because when I think of pork chops, I think of Velveeta, so I bought a box special for the occasion of breaking in our grill, a Ducane Affinity 4200 (I'll write more on that in another post).

I also need to write about G's first experience with spaghetti with sauce, and the making of Giada's Chocolate & Cheese Danish--which I altered a bit and devoured Sunday morning.

Onto the main point of this post: our meal plan for the week...as you might imagine, it includes a lot of grilled foods.

Monday: Leftover grilled pork chops, freshly grilled asparagus from the Farmer's Market
Tuesday: Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, salad from the Farmer's Market
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Grilled Brats with whole wheat buns, curly fries, salad
Friday: Baked Fish, pasta with tomato sauce, salad
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Grilled chicken, grilled veggies, pasta with white sauce

Thanks for checking out our dinners, you can find more on OrgJunkie.com

{Food} Wordless Wednesday with #linky

My husband requested Mexican Cornbread Casserole for dinner this week. I've made it one other time and it was so delicious, but this time I decided to play with the recipe. It's seriously soooo yummy! I highly suggest you check out the recipe I came up with. This dish is different from your run-of-the-mill casseroles and is sure to please everyone (though you should alter the spiciness to appease the palates in your house).

served with salad as a complete meal

baked to a perfect golden brown

topped with extra cheese

If you posted a photo today, please link up below!