Weekend Recap

We had a really nice weekend. On Friday after work was done, we headed over to Rich and Tif's to have dinner and hangout. We tried a new restaurant since we are sick of going to the same places all the time. We went to place called Bread & Butter. They had really good sandwiches and it was kid friendly so Jacob and Makayla could come. Everything was really good, we will definitely go back. I want to try their breakfast too, it looks really good. We had fun just hanging out and being entertained by Jacob. We said good-bye to Ken for a week as he headed to Florida with his parents early on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning we were up and out early to head down to my parents. We had plans to go to 3 different Christmas craft fairs with my mom and Arla and Teddy. I found just a couple of things. I am much more selective now because I have so many decorations already. So, I really need to love it and have a place for it to go in order to justify it. I found the cutest painted canvas sign and a very cute painted snowman candle.

After all of the shopping we headed back to my Mom and Dad's to relax. We all took turns holding Lily, she was so cute. We hung out for a few hours and then ordered in some dinner. We headed home after dinner and just watched some tv before calling it a night. 

We were up early again today. We had someone from Craig's list coming to check out our old coffee table we were selling. He bought the table so we were happy to have it out of the garage. We've sold almost everything we have been trying to get rid of. We just have my old mattress in the nursery to sell, which we need to get rid of quick because we need to get started in there!

We had some breakfast and then we were off to the movies to see Breaking Dawn. 

We went with Rich, Tif, Tif's parents and her brother Ray and his girlfriend. All of the girls really like the movies, the boys not so much. The boys think its lame, but at least they went with us, right? After the movie we headed to Rich and Tif's for Sunday football. We stayed until around 5 and then headed home to have Sunday dinner. I made Spaghetti and Meatball Pot Pies. They were just as good as the first time I made them.

We are just going to relax and watch some tv tonight. I'm so excited for the short work week ahead. I only have to work Monday and Tuesday. I could definitely use 5 days off of work. I hope all of you had a great weekend and have a wonderful holiday week ahead!

Our week in pictures: 11/13 - 11/19

Sunday, November 13: Our grill is living in our kitchen for a few days since we're getting a new deck.

Monday, November 14: Weekly manicure, OPI's Bastille my heart

Tuesday, November 15: Michael's meatloaf for dinner, yum!

Wednesday, November 16: We went out for sushi for Rich's birthday, I got lots of Makayla time in!

Thursday, November 17: My sister is a rock star at what she does and she was honored at the Illinois CPA Society's "Women to Watch" breakfast!

Friday, November 18: 15 week baby bump

Saturday, November 19: My favorite Christmas craft fair find for the day!

Baby Dworianyn Bump Watch: 15 weeks

How far along? 15 weeks, 3 days
Size of the baby? An orange, 4 inches, 2.5 oz
Maternity clothes? Nope not yet.
Weight gain? I gained my first pound this week, but I'm still down 24 pounds overall.
Gender? Just 5 more days to wait!
Movement? Nothing yet, but I can't wait!
Sleep? Sleep has been pretty good this week I just need a lot of it.
Food Cravings? My appetite is finally getting back to normal, thank goodness!
What I miss? Nothing right now, I'm just so happy to have this baby growing inside me.
Symptoms? Pregnancy brain is in full force but that's about it. I'm feeling really good.
Best moments of the week? The excitement is building for the big gender reveal!
What is baby doing this week? This week our baby's legs are growing longer than his/her arms. Although the eye lids are still fused shut, our baby can now sense light inside the womb. The lungs are also beginning to develop and his/her taste buds are forming even though they won't get to taste anything for quite a while.

This week I'm...

Loving: That I get to put up my Christmas decorations in less than a week!

Disliking: The grill residing in my kitchen, we're getting a new deck and its a pain. 
Craving: Buffalo chicken bake is my latest obsession.

Hoping: Thanksgiving weekend doesn't go by too fast.
Reading: I'm still catching up on magazines this week.

Watching: All the Twilight movies to prepare for Breaking Dawn on Sunday, I can't wait!
Listening to: Officially listening to my Christmas play list.
Looking forward to: 3 Christmas craft fairs this weekend!
Hearing buzz about: All of the gender predictions for our little tater tot, is it going to be team pink or team blue?

Wordless Wednesday: Doesn't Everyone Have a Grill in Their Kitchen?

Menu Planning Monday on a Tuesday



It's been a long time since we've regularly cooked at home. I wasn't feeling my best in my first trimester and food was a my enemy. I wasn't getting sick, but nothing sounded good and I had a lot of food aversions. Well for the past couple of weeks I have been feeling a lot better now that I'm in my second trimester. Last week we cooked almost every night and it was really nice. I missed cooking a lot. So we're back to trying to plan a menu for the week and cook more at home.

Monday: Chicken tenders & tater tots

Tuesday: Michael's meatloaf & green beans

Wednesday: Spaghetti & meatball pot pie

Thursday: Buffalo chicken bake

Friday: Take out/go out

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend, but I was terrible at taking pictures, so I'll make this pretty short. On Friday I had a doctor's appointment to check on our little tater tot. Everything looks great, he/she is measuring right on schedule and I could see him/her moving around. The doctor said that he/she is running out of space and that I'm going to be feeling some major stretching pains very soon. I just can't wait for our appointment in only 9 days to see what the little tater tot is. Will we have a prince or princess on the way? Here's the 14 week photo.

I worked the rest of the day and then we headed over to Rich and Tif's to have some dinner and hang out with them, Ken and the kids. We left around 9 and came home, watched some TV and crashed.

Saturday we were up and out early, we had breakfast, went to Kohl's to do some Christmas shopping and then did our grocery shopping. We are almost done with Christmas shopping, we have just a couple people in my family and then we are done! We came home from shopping, had some lunch and then I decided to start wrapping Christmas presents. I have a lot more presents to wrap this year since we had 2 nieces added to the family. I can't wait to see how much more presents there will be next year when our little one is here! I got everything done while watching a movie with Michael. I am definitely ahead of the game this year!

Saturday night, the guys were all going over to Ken's to play poker, so Tif, her mom and I headed to Liz's house to have a girls night. Liz was letting Tif go through and pick out some of her daughter Lauren's clothes to have since they were born around the same time. Jacob and Lauren played while we looked through the clothes and then we just hung out before the kids started to get tired and we headed home. 

Sunday morning we just laid around since Michael didn't get home until pretty late from poker. We had some breakfast and watched some movies. We got up and got ready and then headed over to Rich and Tif's for football Sundays. We hung out, watched the games, ate buffalo chicken dip and played with the kids. Michael's parents came over a little bit later to see the kids since they just got back from a 9 day trip and hadn't seen them in a while. We caught up with them to see how their trip was and then it was nap time for the kids. After Jacob woke up we headed over to Tif's parents for a yummy Sunday dinner. She made homemade lasagna, sausage, garlic bread and then brownie sundaes for dessert. Everything was delicious! It was the perfect end to a great weekend. We came home and just watched some TV and Michael passed out on the couch so we headed upstairs to bed. 

I'm really hoping this week goes by fast, next week I only have to work 2 days and then I'm off for the rest of Thanksgiving, I can't wait. We also have a fun weekend planned next weekend too! I hope all of you had a great weekend and have a speedy week ahead!

Our week in pictures: 11/6 - 11/12

Sunday, November 6: We got some Baby Lily time in, she's so cute!

Monday, November 7: Mmm...Buffalo chicken bake!

Tuesday, November 8: Baby Lily has been added my board at work. I love having all of my nieces and nephew to look at during my day, especially since they're all so cute!

Wednesday, November 9: Porkchop sitting like a freak on Dada, he's nuts!

Thursday, November 10: We got our first snow flakes of the season, they were huge flakes!

Friday, November 11: Our 14 week tater tot!

Saturday, November 12: I got a head start on Christmas wrapping!

Baby Dworianyn Bump Watch: 14 Weeks

How far along? 14 weeks, 3 days - my belly is starting to stick out a little more. It's not really a bump, it just looks like I've been hitting the cookies even though I've been losing weight!
Size of the baby? A lemon, 3.5 inches, 1.5 oz
Maternity clothes? Nope not yet.
Weight gain? I'm holding steady with a total loss of 25 pounds.
Gender? We just scheduled our appointment for November 23. The 2 week countdown is on!
Movement? Nothing yet, but I can't wait!
Sleep? Sleep was has been ok this week, the time change is kicking my butt.
Food Cravings? Chicken remains king.
What I miss? A normal appetite and not being grossed out by so many foods.
Symptoms? My memory still sucks but I'm feeling really good otherwise. I think the worst part right now is my sense of smell, the things my nose picks up are not always good, especially on the train!
Best moments of the week? Seeing our little tater tot at our ultrasound today, he/she is getting so big!
What is baby doing this week? This week our baby is now able to squint, frown, grimace and even suck his/her thumb. Our baby's body is also growing faster than it's head so it looks more human like. The baby is also growing an ultra-fine covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his/her body.

Our 14 week tater tot!

This week I'm...

Loving: That Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I'm so excited for all things holiday!

Disliking: How dark it is by 5 pm now.
Craving: All things chicken.

Hoping: We have a good baby check-up tomorrow.
Reading: Some great Christmas cookie magazines Michael bought me, I can't wait to start Christmas baking!

Watching: Loving the new seasons of Top Chef and Next Iron Chef!
Listening to: The new Michael Buble Christmas cd, it's really good.
Looking forward to: Our gender ultrasound in 2 weeks, I can't wait!
Hearing buzz about: The Duggars are on baby 20, really? When is this woman going to go through menopause?!!

Wordless Wednesday: My favorite view at work

Family Favorite Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Bake

This is a recipe that I made up about 6 years ago out of desperation of having hardly anything in the house to make dinner with. It was a very happy accident, because it's so good! It's really simple too.

Ingredients

1 bag - No yolk egg noodles

3 boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Frank's red hot sauce

1 cup light ranch dressing

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

Instructions

- Preheat oven to 375

- Pound chicken breasts to tenderize

- Place chicken on baking sheet and drizzle hot sauce all over the chicken breasts

- Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until fully cooked

- Boil water and cook egg noodles

- Drain noodles and set aside

- Combine the ranch dressing and 1/4 cup of the hot sauce, set aside

- Once the chicken is cooked, cut into bite-size pieces

- Add the chicken to the cooked noodles

- Add 1 cup of the colby jack cheese

- Add the ranch and hot sauce mixture 

- Once fully combined, put into casserole dish

- Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and browned if desired

- Enjoy!

Weekend Recap

We had a great family-filled weekend. On Friday after work we headed over to Rich and Tif's to wait for Jacob to wake up from his nap and then get some dinner. Michael's parents had some extra tickets that they couldn't use for the local Lion's club spaghetti dinner so we went there for dinner. It was pretty good. After dinner we headed back to Rich and Tif's to hangout and play with the kids. We left around 10 and came home and crashed.

Saturday we were up and out early. We went to breakfast and ran a few errands. My parents came over so my Mom and I could head to the craft show at the Odeum and Michael and my Dad went Christmas tree hunting. The Christmas tree hunting was a bust but my Mom and I found a few cute things at the craft show.

I got some cute new ornaments and a snowman candle holder. I'm looking forward to a few other Christmas craft fairs coming up in a couple of weeks in my hometown. We grabbed some lunch on our way home and then hung out the rest of the afternoon before heading for some more shopping and to Bonefish for dinner.

We had delicious bang bang shrimp of course. Dad had shrimp tacos, Michael had tillapia and I had chicken marsala. What did Mom have? Well she ate wolffish. We didn't know what it was but the waiter said it was really good. Michael googled it and this is what we saw...

Yikes! Obviously that's not what it looked like when she got it, but that is one ugly/scary fish! She said it was delicious though! They call it the catfish of the ocean so it's a mild whitefish. After dinner my parents headed home and we just relaxed the rest of the night. 

Sunday we got up and made some breakfast and then headed down to Arla and Teddy's. We needed some Baby Lily time! She is such a sweetie and was so good. She laid in mine and Michael's arms for about 3 hours totally peaceful. She was just looking around and squirming. We watched some football, got some lunch and just hung out. Lily was very comfortable laying with her Uncle Michel. He's very comfy!

We left after the first batch of football games were over and headed home. I fell asleep and took a little nap. When I woke up it was time to make Sunday dinner. Michael and I have been craving homemade stuffing so  bad and Thanksgiving just seems too far away to wait. I made a garlic and herb pork tenderloin with homemade stuffing and some biscuits. It was so good. 

The rest of the night we just relaxed and watched some tv. We have a busy week coming up but at least there's only 2 more weeks until Thanksgiving. I only have to work 2 days that week so I've got that to look forward to. I hope all of you had a great weekend and have a speedy week ahead!

Our week in pictures: 10/30 - 11/5

Sunday, October 30: View from the plane on the flight to San Francisco

Monday, October 31: Conference reception in San Francisco

Tuesday, November 1: Red Starbuck's cups are here, the holidays are upon us!

Wednesday, November 2: I have the best husband, I came home to a clean house, grocery shopping done and he took all of my Halloween decorations down too!

Thursday, November 3: My first batch of Maternity clothes!

Friday, November 4: My 13 week bump

Saturday, November 5: First Christmas craft show of the season!

Baby Dworianyn Bump Watch: 13 weeks

How far along? 13 weeks, 3 days - my belly is starting to stick out a little more.
Size of the baby? A peach, 2.3 inches, .80 oz
Maternity clothes? Nope not yet, but I did get a few maternity tops from Old Navy this week!
Weight gain? I'm down another 3 pounds this week for a total loss of 25 pounds. I think all of my running around like a crazy woman at my conference for 4 days is responsible for this week's loss.
Gender? We will hopefully be finding out on November 23. Most people are saying girl but there are a few in the boy camp as well. We just want a healthy baby.
Movement? I can't feel anything but I can't wait!
Sleep? Sleep was rough this week but it had less to do with being pregnant and more to do that I was out of town alone.
Food Cravings? I pretty much only want chicken lately.
What I miss? My memory, I feel like my energy is slowly coming back though.
Symptoms? Still pretty emotional and my memory is still escaping me.
Best moments of the week? Officially being out of the first trimester, we're a third of the way there! Also finding out that our NT Scan results came back perfect. Our risk for downs and other disorders are very low.

This week I'm...

Loving: That I am home from San Francisco and I have a 3-day weekend!

Disliking: That the clocks get turned back this weekend, it's going to be really dark really early next week.

Craving: Not much, eating has become such a pain. Nothing sounds good.

Hoping: I can get all of my Fall and Halloween decorations down this weekend.
Reading: Not much this week since I've been out of town.

Watching: I have a lot of tv to catch up on!
Listening to: Smooth jazz at my work event on Monday.
Looking forward to: Getting in the holiday spirit at the first Christmas craft show of the year this weekend!

Hearing buzz about: Only 72 days, who could have guessed?

Wordless Wednesday: Good-bye San Francisco



You know the holidays are coming when...

The red cups premiere at Starbucks!