Weekend stuff

Our weekend was bookended by good dinners so I’m sharing in case anyone’s looking for easy, relatively healthy meals.

We had chicken at home already so I picked up some veggies during my lunch break on Friday.  The McHusband helped me get those cut while I got the “sauce” made.  We let everything sit in the sauce while I put Connor to bed (the McHusband was working out) then I roasted it all at once for about 45 minutes.  Easy and delicious!

The sauce/marinade is from Skinnytaste.  The mushrooms were my favorite part.

Then on Sunday, we had our favorite turkey burgers (you guys REALLY should try them) with corn on the cob and, thanks to Ina Garten, a new-to-me roasted potatoes with garlic side dish.  OMG, so so good!  I only had 1.5 pounds of potatoes plus a few mushrooms leftover from Friday, but I did the full amount of olive oil, spices, and garlic.  I will be making this again and again.

In between those fabulous meals, there was a stroller run, cupcakes and pizza (birthday party), sushi and a movie (triple date night), more cupcakes (birthday party), and other fun stuff like laundry, some chores, and packing.  Yes, we finally got some stuff boxed up.  Now we just have to keep the momentum going and, preferably, continue to put stuff in boxes each night.  We close on the new house this Friday so we will probably try to get some stuff over there this weekend, especially if it’s stuff that goes upstairs where there aren’t going to be any renovations.

(Could I have said “stuff” one more time?)

Hope you guys had good weekends!

PS  At the time that this post published, I should’ve been halfway through my run.  I missed the past two Mondays due to turning my alarm off the first time and the alarm going off silently (Thanks, Connor!) the second.  Third time’s the charm as they say.

Adults only

We went to a party at the neighbors’ house on Saturday.  I of course signed up to share some baked goods, but I made a third treat.  Two ingredients and it was a hit!

That’s the sign I made to indicate that the fruit was NOT okay for the kids to eat.  It’s not supposed to be gray (it was white on paper, but I can’t figure out how to fix it so just imagine the background is white.  (I know, you are impressed again with my amazing photoediting skills.)

The McHusband cut up two small pineapples and we soaked the pieces overnight in coconut rum.  We drained the rum right before the party (don’t worry, it didn’t go to waste) then served the pineapple with skewers.  You should’ve seen how happy everyone was to find out what was in that bowl.  If you have another party to go to this summer, I highly recommend you try this “dish” or some version of it.  Oranges soaked in pineapple rum. Strawberries soaked in Whipped Vodka.  Or a classic, watermelon soaked in tequila with a little salt sprinkled on it.

And then invite me to help you eat it.

Life lately

I’m sorry my blogging has been so intermittent.  That being said, I’m not here to promise it’s going to get better.  I mean, I hope it will since we have a trip to visit my dad coming up plus Connor’ll be 18 months soon and I really need to do an update on him, and let’s not forget the whole moving-to-a-new-house situation.  We close two weeks from today but won’t move in and live there for two more weeks after that because we’re doing some updates first.  Bye bye wood trim, tile floors, and wall between the den and living room!  Hello white and bright, wood, and open space!

Don’t be jealous of my amazing photoediting skills.

I hope to keep touching base at least a couple times a week, but I’ve been trying to get more sleep lately and that usually means I’m not on the couch with my computer on my lap while I catch up on a show for very long most evenings.  And while I’m making like a spud, I just want to zone out.  You guys are only getting this post because I had some time yesterday afternoon to work something up.  Last night, I got home from the Y and Walmart a little after 7, had a quick dinner, made some cookie dough, got cleaned up, got ready for today, then vegged for those few precious moments before it was time for bed.

Before I forget, I want to share a new favorite with you guys.  The McHusband brought home a new-to-us chip: Boulder Canyon Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper.  I’m telling you about these chips because they are very dangerous and you should be warned.  They are delicious, perfectly greasy without being gross, and are highly addictive.  You probably shouldn’t seek them out but if you feel you must, we have found them at Kroger.  Or maybe Trader Joe’s?  I found the regular Sea Salt ones at Harris Teeter but the McHusband and I agree, those aren’t as good.

We have a good enough weekend on tap.  Just hanging out tonight, which for me means baking some Strawberry Shortcake Bars before a decent bedtime.  I’ll go to the Y tomorrow morning, bake cookies in the afternoon, then we have a neighbor’s backyard bash in the evening.  One last hurrah in this ‘hood. Insert sad face here.

TGIF and have a great weekend!

My weekend with Connor

The McHusband spent this past weekend in Myrtle Beach with a couple of his friends.  It was his annual guys’ vacation, and I’m happy to say he returned with all appendages still attached.  No shark excitement this weekend, thank goodness.

I went out with some girlfriends Friday night.  We had dinner and saw Magic Mike XXL.  As much as I wish I could say it was awesome, the movie was a little disappointing.  Not enough dancing and, let’s face it, this group of guys wasn’t put together primarily for their acting.  Also, the dancing that was in the movie?  It was just way too dirty, too…sexual.  It wasn’t fun enough.

But maybe that’s just me.  The women in the movie certainly seemed to be having a great time.

Connor and I stuck close to home the rest of the weekend, venturing out only to Walmart, on walks, and to the patio out back.

Connor helped me reorganize my cupcake pans.

He played in his fancy water table and, ever the gentleman, kept the hose from getting me wet.

Connor enjoyed some Greek yogurt and the subsequent facial.

He even got some work done.

Finally, he went to Mars and back in my laundry basket.  Looks like he had a good trip, huh?

It was nice getting the quality time with him.  I’m not saying a break wouldn’t have been good, but we had fun most of the time AND I got some stuff done around the house.  Can’t really ask for much more.

Happy Monday!

Thursday ramblings

My favorite part of my weekdays is when I pick Connor up from daycare.

Ashley says that most days, from the time the first kid gets picked up, Connor starts in with his “Momomomomom” and hangs out by the front door looking out the windows next to it.  He understands that I will be there soon to get him and is looking forward to it.

Hold on a minute, I need to recover from my burst heart.

When I come through the door, he’s usually playing in one of two places, but when he sees or hears me, he comes “running” wearing a big smile, singing my favorite song: the “Momomom song.”

It is hard to be away from him all day, every day.  However, stay-at-home-parents do NOT have an easy job, I’m certainly not trying to imply that I think they do.  One thing that is nice for them, though, is being able to take care of chores and errands during the week instead of cramming all that PLUS quality spouse, family, social, and “me” time into the two-day weekend.

I’m lucky that I have a wonderful McHusband who picks up my slack in so many areas, who lets me get in my time at the Y and go out with the girls.  I’m very dedicated to my job and being there when I’m supposed to be, but I have a boss who understands that sometimes things come up so I may need to leave early or come in late or take time off for Connor’s check-ups or take a vacation day because daycare is closed.  Knock on wood, we’ve never had to take any unexpected time off due to Connor being ill.  (Let’s hope me putting that out there in the universe doesn’t change that record.)

I’m healthy, if sleep deprived but not because of Connor, not directly anyway.  He sleeps like the proverbial baby.  I am finally coming around to not being as sad about leaving our house for a new one and am getting excited about making it over with our touches.  I have job security, a fantastic network of friends, strong family ties, and coworkers I enjoy being with.  I have a really cute kid (if I do say so myself – and I do!) who brings me joy every day.  And I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say I have the best McHusband out there.

Now if only I could get a third day added to my weekends…

The long (but not long enough) weekend

We had a lovely holiday weekend.  The McHusband and I were both home on Friday and Connor spent about half the day at daycare so that we grown-ups could, well, enjoy a vacation day.  I made sure not to be too productive and it was just what this working mom needed.

The Y was closed on Saturday so I took Connor and Monte on a walk then did a strength workout in the bonus room before showering, eating lunch, and making a Harris Teeter run with Connor.  Later that afternoon, he took a wonderful afternoon nap then we headed to my friend Erika’s house for a Fourth of July party.  She made sure there was something for everyone: adult Jenga, both a water AND a sand table for the kids, plus delicious food.  We arrived fashionably late thanks to the aforementioned nap so it’s a good thing I brought dessert (those amazing chocolate chip cookies and some brownie-peanut butter bars) and not the appetizers.

Connor didn’t sleep in quite as late as he needed Sunday morning so he took a short nap before we headed to the Mason Jar Tavern to have lunch with Rick, Sabrina, and Owen who were out our way completing a craigslist deal.  From there, it was home for naps for the boys and laundry and a movie for me.  Just a nice chill afternoon (the theme of the weekend) for me.  I had dinner in the crockpot and it was very easy to throw together and it turned out to be a good meal.  The meat cooked a little long but the flavor was good.

Hope everyone else also enjoyed the weekend and the holiday.  Back to the real world today!