Meal Plan Monday

I have had a few weeks off from cooking...not gonna lie...it was pretty nice. We had meals brought to us and we have also eaten out several times. I think I am ready to start planning our meals again. It may be a little trickier with a newborn, but I think I can do it. Here is what I am going to try to make this week.

Sunday:

Kung Pao Chicken

Brown Rice

Steamed Broccoli

Monday:

Grilled Steaks

(Best Steak Marinade ever- 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup olive oil 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder 3 tablespoons dried basil 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes 1 teaspoon ground pepper 1 teaspoon minced garlic)

Salad

Crash Hot Potatoes

Tuesday:

Lemon Chicken

Asparagus

Bread

Wednesday:

Leftovers

Thursday:

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi with Orzo

Salad

Friday:

Picking something up or going out to dinner.

Saturday:

Picking something up or going out to dinner.

*I also plan on making Nutella Caramel Hazelnut Brownies at some point this week.

Giveaway Winner!

I am so excited to announce the winner of the "300 Followers Giveaway"! Thank you to everyone who entered. The winner of the Stella & Dot earrings is Lindsey! I will be emailing you to get your address soon! Congrats!!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:36

Sally-Three Weeks Old

Sally: Three Weeks

Loves: Cuddling with Mommy and Daddy....especially from 5-10 am in the morning. I think that's when we get our best sleep.You also love to EAT! I swear you must be going through a growth spurt. You want to eat...all the time! You also love your swing and making silly faces.

Eating: I am breast feeding only a few times a day. The rest of the time she is drinking either breast milk or formula from a bottle.It's funny how I was ALL about breast feeding until I had to actually do it. It's hard...and frustrating at times. I still want her to have a much breast milk as possible, but formula works so well in the middle of the night. This little girl gets hungry a lot! Joe calls her a little wolverine. She drinks so fast and furious sometimes that she chokes herself...poor baby girl!

Sleeping: I think the sleeping and getting up for feedings has been the hardest thing for me and Joe. We are so exhausted. We have been taking turns getting up with her and feeding her. Joe has been so awesome taking care of her at night when she is just not ready to go to sleep yet...and I am! He takes her and lets me sleep. The normal "schedule" right now is this: we feed her and put her to bed around 8-9. She wakes up for a feeding around midnight, four am, and 7 am...then we usually go back to bed for a few hours.

Clothes: I realized I didn't include this in the other weekly updates! You are waring newborn diapers and newborn clothes...some of the clothes are still a little too big. I feel like you are wearing the same few outfits over and over again. I hope you keep growing. I have a whole closet of clothes that I need you to wear!

Fun Facts: Sally is involved in a speech study through the U of Memphis and has to wear a special recording device on a vest...hence the ugly green vest that you may see in some of the pictures. This is a really cool study. It records the sounds that she makes, the amount of time that we talk to her, etc. Its basically all about speech/language and she gets paid for it...hello college fund!

Mommy Moments: I am still wearing maternity jeans...they are so comfortable...it will be hard to go back to regular jeans. I have lost a total of 25 pounds...yay!

Firsts: Sally had her first bath...and she liked it...she didn't cry once. We tried to make the water warm and kept pouring it over her little body the whole time. Mommy washed your hair and Daddy washed your body. You smelled so sweet afterwards! We brought lunch and visited Daddy at work. I took you to Kroger and Target all by myself. You did great! We took you for a walk around the block. Mommy also went on a power walk for the first time this week...I was tired afterwards!

Sweet Kelly sent Sally and cute outfit and this adorable snack and sippy cup. Love it!!

Mommy loves snuggling you!

Daddy is determined to play his video games....ha! Good thing that you like to sleep on him.

We visited Daddy at work and brought Chinese food for lunch.

Sleeping in the bouncy seat

Daddy feeding Sally....notice how tired Hank looks!

I took some pictures of Sally this afternoon. I think they turned out so cute!

Hank gave his sister lots of doggie kisses!

Mad Face!

Fitness Friday

Now I realize that I just had a baby 3 weeks ago, but I am beyond ready to get my body back. I was in the process of loosing weight when I got pregnant last May. I had completed 2 weeks of Weight Watchers and I was working out several times a week. I have already lost 25 pounds of the 35 gained while pregnant....which means that I am only 10 pounds away from the pre-baby weight. I still would like to loose about 20 pounds on top of that.

I just found this idea on another blog, The Blessed Life. I love how she has broken down her goals into weeks. One fitness goal a week. I am going to start at "Week One" and go from there.

Weekly Goals (to be accomplished each day of the week):

Week 1- Track Calories
Week 2- Move every day
Week 3- Water each morning instead of juice
Week 4- No french fries
Week 5- Drink only water throughout the day after breakfast
Week 6- No snacking after 8 pm
Week 7- No sweets
Week 8- Do three sets of planks for 60 seconds each
Week 9- No starches (white potatoes, white breads, etc.)
Week 10- Only snack on heathy foods
Week 11- 20 push-ups each day
Week 12- Eat a salad each day (no creamy dressing)
Week 13- Eat a whole grain each day
Week 14- Take a walk each day
Week 15- Cook only "light or healthy" meals
Week 16- 50 jumping jacks each day
Week 17- Eat 3-5 servings of baked, steamed, or raw veggies
Week 18- Eat 2-4 servings of fruit
Week 19- Do 3 sets of stairs each day

I changed a few of the goals to suit my needs.

So today starts Week 1. My goal this week is counting calories. Come back on Friday to see how I did this week.

February Bluum Box

I got the February Bluum Box last week and it was much better than last month's. I love the cute rattle that came with it!

Two Weeks Old (almost a week late)

Sally: Two Weeks

*Joe and I cannot believe that it has been two whole weeks since Sally entered the world. Parenthood is awesome but we are super tired. Luckily, Joe is a big help to me and wants to be as involved as possible. We take turns getting up at night and Joe loves to change her diaper and feed her. He even takes her sometimes so Mommy can get to bed early.

Loves: riding in the car, being swaddled, eating (a lot!), snuggling in the bed with mommy and daddy, making silly faces, getting kisses, napping in the swing

Eating: Breastfeeding is going better, but for everyones sanity, we are still supplementing with formula at night (and in the middle of the night)...and I am at a place where I am OK with it. I have to do what is best for Sally and me :)

Sleeping: Sally has not been sleeping as well this week as she did last week. She is only sleeping for a few hours at a time. It is hard staying up with her in the middle of the night, but I am making it. Joe and I have been taking turns feeding her and trying to get her back to sleep. I am so ready for her to sleep longer stretches and I am up for suggestions if you have them. I know that we should not try and sleep train for a few months.

Fun Facts: Sally went out to dinner with us for the first time. We went to Firebirds and she slept the entire time...yay! She also went to Costco, Pottery Barn, and on a walk around the block. She likes being outside in the sunshine. You are so strong...already holding your head up!!

Mommy Moments: I am feeling almost completly back to normal. Breastfeeding is going MUCH better. I am so happy that you like your swing and like to nap. Mommy is able to rest and get things done during the day.

Firsts: First time out to eat (at Firebirds), Sally went to Poppy's and met Rufus (Poppy's dog), pooped on the changing table while we were changing you

Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoying enjoyment:

Sally sleeping

Snuggling with Daddy

Napping on the couch...see a trend? This girl LOVES to sleep!

In your swing

Fill In The Blank Friday

1. The highlight of my week was just spending time snuggling with my little monkey (Sally).

2. If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic it would be Pottery Barn meets the flea market.

3. My first vehicle was a 1986 Honda Accord named "Ethan". I cried when I sold it.

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is water. I have been so thirsty recently.

5. My favorite way to waste time is by puttering around on Pinterest. I just wish I put as much time into doing the projects that I spend so much time "pinning".

6. Right now I could really go for an ice cream cone.

7. This weekend I will be relaxing with Joe and Sally.

*Don't forget to enter my giveaway for some gorgeous Stella and Dot earrings. It ends tonight.