24 weeks!

24 weeks! Wow. Apparently, baby girl #3 weighs just over a pound and is a foot long (like an ear of corn) {babycenter.com}

Very interesting. You know, back during my 1st pregnancy, if someone asked how far along I was, I would be very specific. I'd say 24 weeks 3 days, and I wouldn't even hesitate. If they asked how much the baby weighed or how big it was, I would spout off all the babycenter.com stats comparing the baby to fruits and vegetables, etc (you know what I'm talking about, but if not... here).

 

I LIVED on Babycenter; the FAQ, the daily information, and don't get me started on the boards!! It was all so new and exciting to me... and really helpful (minus the "I think I'm losing the baby" threads which were less than cool). However, the fact that I was working on a computer 9 hours a day helped give me time to peruse.

 

However, this pregnancy I haven't been to babycenter or any other baby boards (with the exception of 5 minutes ago for the 24 week baby stats) since like month 2.  It's not that I think I know everything, trust me... I forget what week a baby is viable, what week the glucose screening is (but, I have had 2 different doctors so they switched that up on me -- same with the gender ultrasound), or how much I am supposed to gain each trimester, and all sorts of other random things. 

 

I started out strong; I joined my birth month board, updated my profile, and started posting... but, not gonna lie, chasing around 2 toddlers leaves little time for putzing and posting questions on baby boards.

Oh well, I guess I'll just wing it this time! I mean really, I've already done it twice! :)

Happy 6 months of growing, baby girl #3 :) Can't wait to meet you!

Weekly Meal Plan #41

I don't have much plans for dinner this week... slacker, I know! I'm heading out of town for my brothers wedding (leaving the hubby to fend for himself) so I am kind of winging it.

Sunday was ...
Chicken Boursin Bundles
Monday was ...
Hamburger, veggies, Mashed Potatoes
Tuesday
Italian mac n Cheese with salad

Wednesday
Tilapia with Spinach and Tomatoes... maybe

Thursday
I am OUTTA HERE!

Last weeks recap

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza

Eye Round Roast - AMAZING!

 Penne with Chicken & Peapods

 Chicken Caesar Florentine

Grilled steak

Pizza Night #15 - Revisit Portobello Pizza

For our 15th pizza night (well, 15th posted pizza night) we decided to revisit #5, Portobello Pizza.

The only difference was we used the Publix (grocery store chain) bakery pizza dough instead of a can of refrigerated pizza dough and we baked it for 18 minutes or so.

Again, we were HUGE fans! How yummy does this look?!

mmmm turkey legs!

Since we got our Annual Disney passes for Christmas (and then after some time, finally activated them), we have gone 3 times in 5 months! I find this to be pretty good considering I'm pregnant, we've been traveling, and it's hotter than anything here in Florida over the summer.

The girls, my mother in law, and I ventured over to Magic Kingdom on a cool 90+* day this past week, phew! It was hot, but we had a blast.

We tried out some new (to us) rides/shows:
The newly remodeled Dumbo the Elephant Flying Circus
We hovered around the Casey Jr. Splash and Soak Station
Enchanted Tiki Room
and the train that goes around the whole park

But my favorite NEW thing that we tried was....

THE TURKEY LEG!

 What's this mom?

I eat this thing?

 I don't know mom, looks kinda weird...

 Well... I guess I'll try it...

 Oh, wow... YUMMY! More please!

Even Jillie was a fan!

Weekly Meal Plan #40

Sunday
Low key grilling out steak and chicken

Monday
Crockpot Jambalaya

Tuesday
... I'm debating...

Wednesday
Chicken Caesar Florentine

Thursday
Penne with Chicken & Peapods

Friday
Charlotte's preschool orientation night!! So... either something taken out or something from the freezer

Saturday
Date night?

Last weeks recap

Baked Chicken with roasted garlic green beans and smashed potatoes

Ranch Pork Chops with Asparagus

Andoulli Sausage Red Beans and Rice (with leftover chicken)

Pizza Night - Portobella Pizza

Bachelorette Party Goodies

The other weekend was my future-sister-in-laws bachelorette party in her home town of New Orleans. Her local sisters planned and prepared all the fun stuff for her bridal shower during the day Saturday, so I decided to come up with something fun for Saturday nights festivities.

After some googling and etsy and pinterest searching, I decided to make some Bachelorette Party Survival Kits. Since I was flying (with carry -on) I was somewhat limited on what to put in the baggies.

They were a HUGE hit! One girl had to use her kit before the night really started because she tripped on the oh-so-uneven streets of Bourbon Street on her way to dinner (alcohol swab and bandaid).

We had:
starbursts
blow pop
mints
chapstick (PS - the aquafina was like 4 for $2!!)
nail file
moist wipes
hair tie
bandaid
single serving energy drink
"Return to" address cards

My favorite item had to be the "Please return to" cards that I made in photoshop! Not that any of us needed it, but hey, we could have!

Linking up: Dragonfly Designs,
DIY By Design  , Gingersnap Crafts , My Girlish Whims , Sew Much Ado, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Trendy Treehouse, Vintage Gwen, Someday Crafts, Handy man Crafty Woman , Raegun Wear, Crafty Moms Share, Young and Crafty, Snips and Spice,
I heart Naptime,
Nifty Thrifty Things,
DIY Showoff,
Keeping it Simple, Under the Table Dreaming 

Weekly Meal Plan #39

Sunday was...
Baked Chicken with roasted garlic green beans and smashed potatoes

Monday
Ranch Pork Chops with Asparagus

Tuesday
Red Beans, Andoulli Sausage, and Rice

Wednesday
Mama has a meeting... something quick and easy

Thursday
Might be going to Disney World... so... nothing

Friday
Pizza Night!

Last weeks recap

Italian Chicken Packets
They were ok

One dish mushroom chicken bake

{Pinned there, Done That} Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Grits

I came across this pin the other day for Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Grits from foodnetwork.com and Oh. My. Gosh... this was an awesomely quick and yummy shrimp and grits recipe!

In fact, hubby couldn't really tell the difference between this recipe and my Wedding Shrimp and Grits recipe. It totally is. In his defense, I haven't made the Wedding Shrimp and Grits recipe in quite a while, lol, and they both have grits, shrimp, and andoulli sausage. But similarities end there, wedding recipe calls for heavy cream, a STICK of butter, and cheddar... Lemon Garlic has water/chicken broth,  It is SO much healthier and quicker though, but you do kind of miss out on all the creamy goodness of the Wedding Shrimp and Grits.

My grits were a touch runny... maybe the extra lemon juice I added, I don't know. But they were perfect 15 minutes later after hubby got off a phone call to eat.

I did tweak this recipe a bit, but it took me only 30 minutes start to finish (compared to the 30 some-odd minutes of just qrit-work in the Wedding recipe).

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Grits

original recipe
footnetwork.com + a few tweaks

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup instant grits 
• 2 C water + 1 C chicken broth
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
• 2-3 andoulli sausages (my addition)
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)  (I decided cayenne was not necessary since I was using andoulli sausage which tends to be spicy.
  
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving (I added an extra tablespoon or two of jarred lemon juice to the shrimp/andoulli mixture)
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Bring 3 2 cups of water and 1 cup of chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, covered. Uncover and slowly whisk in the grits, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, slice andoulli sausage into coins and saute in a large skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the pan until melted. Add shrimp, garlic and cayenne, if using, and cook, tossing, until the shrimp are pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons water, the lemon juice (plus extra jarred lemon juice) and parsley; stir to coat the shrimp and andoulli sausage with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Divide the grits among shallow bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.
Serves: 4

I HIGHLY recommend this recipe!