Our week in pictures: 9/23 - 9/29

Sunday, September 23: Birthday Daddy with his little man!

Monday, September 24: Ready for school!

Tuesday, September 25: We finally got our Fall Family Pictures in after we got rained out last week. Ethan was looking like a dapper gentleman! Daddy was happy to get a picture with the tank too. Boys love their toys!

Wednesday, September 26: We are checking things off our Fall Bucket List!

Thursday, September 27: Crispy ranch cheddar chicken, yum! Recipe coming next week.

Friday, September 28: My little pumpkin!

Saturday, September 29: We got to see Grandma and Papa after their 2 weeks in Hawaii! They brought Ethan back the cutest Mickey sunglasses!

Mommy's Little Pumpkin

It was so beautiful out today I wanted to go out with Ethan and enjoy the day. His pumpkin shirt that I had made for him on Etsy came and I just couldn't wait to take some pictures with him in it!

Wordless Wednesday: Checking Things Off

New Recipe: Breaded Pork Tenderloin

So my picture of this is pretty terrible. I hate how it gets dark so early now, it kills my dinner photography! LOL!This recipe is so ridiculously easy but it was too amazing to not put on the blog. I've never breaded a pork tenderloin before. Usually we marinate it but I will definitely be breading it again. The pork was so moist, it was incredible!

Ingredients
2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 tsp. garlic powder or to taste
2 tsp. onion powder or to taste
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper or to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Season pork tenderloin with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder
3. Add olive oil to bread crumbs and combine to reach consistency that would be moist enough to stick to the meat when pressed.
4. Place pork on a shallow cooking sheet. Press the crumb mixture onto all sides of the meat until bread crumb crust is 1/4 inch thick.
5. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes depending on size of tenderloin until internal temperature is 165 degrees.
6. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes and then slice into 1/2 inch slices.
7. Enjoy!

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend! On Friday we were supposed to take our Fall Family pictures but the weather was crappy so we had to re-schedule for this week. Since it was rainy out I decided to take advantage of the weather and put up our Fall/Halloween decorations.

I will do a full post this week with lots more pictures of our decorations. I love having them up, its really cozy   in the house now. While I was putting up my decorations I got my iPhone 5 delivered! 

I was so excited to get it! I had the iPhone 4 so it was fun to have the new one. I've been using it all weekend and I really love it. The camera is so much better, and the phone in general is a lot faster than my old one. Friday night we just stayed in and relaxed. We made appetizers for dinner and just hung out with the little man. 

Saturday morning we got up and headed out to breakfast early. We went to Wildberry in Schaumburg. Ethan was looking so cute in his owl outfit. I've been waiting for months for him to fit into it!

After breakfast we ran some errands at Babies R' Us, Whole Foods and Crate and Barrel. After a few hours of running around we headed home. We relaxed most of the afternoon. I made us lunch and a couple of loaves of zucchini bread.

On Saturday night we headed over to Rich and Tif's to hang out and get some dinner. We went to Famous Dave's for dinner and then headed back to Rich and Tif's house to play with the kids. We headed home when it was time for Ethan to go to bed. 

Sunday was Michael's 30th Birthday! We started the day cuddling in bed with our little man. Then I made Michael's favorite breakfast, french toast, hash browns and sausage. After breakfast we worked on making sauerkraut and polish sausage for Pierogi Fest that was happening later that day. We relaxed, watched football and played with Ethan. Around 2 Michael headed to his parents for Pierogi Fest to celebrate his30th  and his Dad's 60th birthday. I stayed home for a little longer until Ethan woke up from his nap. I got to his parent's house right when they were starting to cook the pierogi. The pierogi were delicious as always. I was bad and didn't take any pictures at all. I was too busy eating and taking care of Ethan. When we got home we put candles in a cupcake and sang Happy Birthday to Michael. Ethan was enthralled by the candles!

It was a great weekend and I'm so thankful to celebrate my love's birthday. 30 is looking really good on my man! I hope all of you had a great weekend and have a good week ahead!

Happy 30th Birthday Michael!

Today my amazing husband Michael turns 30 years old. In honor of this milestone, here are 30 reasons I am absolutely, totally crazy in love with you!

1. You are my best friend.

2. The way you can make me laugh with just a look.

3. You are caring, loving, kind and generous.

4. You are incredibly sexy.

5. You always say "I love you" at every phone call, text, or before you leave.

6. How you always know when I need a hug.

7. Your ability to surprise me.

8. Your calming and laid back vibe.

9. Your appreciation for the simple things.

10. You did everything you could to create our family.

11. You always stand up for what is right.

12. Your beautiful eyelashes that I wish I could cut off and glue on mine!

13. How you grab my hand and hold it when we're driving in the car.

14. You love to cook with me.

15. You will do anything I ask (as long as I ask nicely!)

16. Your ability to get along with everyone.

17. The way we can look at each other and know exactly what the other is thinking.

18. You could care less what anyone thinks.

19. Your work ethic.

20. Your ability to turn things off in your head and be in the moment.

21. You don't take things for granted.

22. You love to try new things.

23. You're always encouraging.

24. How you handle the difficult things I can't.

25. You believe in splurging.

26. You can't go to sleep without a cuddle first.

27. You almost always say "yes".

28. You love to be adventurous and spontaneous. 

29. You are such a great Daddy to Ethan.

30. You are more than I could have ever wished for in a husband.

Our week in pictures: 9/16 - 9/22

Sunday, September 16: Junior Fireman Ethan

Monday, September 17: September Citrus Lane Box!

Tuesday, September 18: One of my favorite bloggers has a little boy a year older than Ethan. I bought a ton of clothes from her for Ethan next Summer. Everything is from Gymboree and Janie and Jack and I paid less than 25% of retail and most of it has never been worn or still has tags on it, score!

Wednesday, September 19: The Christmas gift closet is getting pretty full! I'm almost done shopping and it's not even October!

Thursday, September 20: Had to manage a work event

Friday, September 21: iPhone 5 day, yay!

Saturday, September 22: Fall/Halloween decorations are complete!

A sneak peek into Fall!

I'm spending this rainy day putting up our Fall and Halloween decorations. A full reveal coming soon!

Wordless Wednesday: Turtle Head