Happy New Year!!

Well...Almost....45 minutes to go. Our plans changed last minute due to the weather, snow and below freezing temperatures. We just were not sure if we would risk the back roads of Lincoln county on a crazy night anyway...so here we sit.

We had a fun night of playing cards, drinking sparkling wine from our crystal champagne flutes, munching on snacks, and a little tech time (iPad/Wii). It's been nice, not having to dress up, sitting around in lounge pants, and doing whatever we want :-) the baby is asleep in her crib, and I am hanging with my best friend getting ready to ring in another year of our life together.

Looking back on my 3 New Years resolutions from last year I met them all! We have been making our own laundry detergent, and dishwasher soap, I have greatly increased the amount of veggies I eat, and I have had a few more outings with friends and hubs minus the baby.

For this next year here are a few things I would like to do:
1) BE PRODUCTIVE...YET CALM - this is my number 1 goal for the year, take a deep breath because these moments will not happen again....
2) continue to be healthy and loose more weight- this year I met my goal (one day before New Years).... But none the less I met it and surpassed it by .4 pounds :-)
3) meal plan- really because I like it.....and dabble in freezer meals- instead of going to Time For Dinner
4) try a couple new gym classes- I was thinking 1/month, but that seems lofty as of now, considering I do 0.
5) sell our house- can I make this a goal if I have NO control over it?
6) talk hubs into adding to our family {am I allowed to say that?}

I am hoping for a great year for my family and friends- with lots of laughter and travels. Cheers!

Merry christmas!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Can you believe 2012 is almost over!!

What a wonderful Holiday season we have had, we celebrated with my grandma on Christmas Eve Eve by going out to lunch with her and my parents. I always love seeing my grandma :-)

On Christmas Eve we headed to my parents house and opened presents with my parents and brother and his family. Allie got so many things! Cute clothes, boots, a little rocking chair, books, a baby doll, and so much more! Scott and I got a bread maker, and I got lots of coffee for my Keurig :-) the bread machine is great so far!

On Christmas we headed out to Troy to celebrate with my in-laws. I wasn't feeling the best in the morning, but thought it would go away once I ate some food. Well....turns out brunch just made me even more sick. We opened so many wonderful gifts, including clothes, PJ's, coffee, beer, and slippers for Scott and I. Allie got a grocery cart, stroller, baby dolls with handmade diapers/wipes/diaper bag, clothes, a pouf, and so much more!

Unfortunately after making it through all the gift giving, I was NOT feeling good at all...Scott was awesome enough to pack up the car and we promptly headed out. I hated to leave in such a rush, but I was hurting bad...yuck...Scott did an awesome job getting Allie all together, brought her inside where she took another 3 hour nap! Wow! I was impressed, and that time was great for me to get a little better. I had body aches and chills all day :-(

We did not celebrate our Christmas at home until the following day, because I was not feeling well. Scott and I exchanged gifts, he got me Coach perfume, and I got him a DVD and a case for his Raspberry Pi. We stuck to a list of 4 things for Allie- I found this idea on Pinterest. I felt like it was a good way not to go overboard on toys and such this year.
1 thing you need- snack cup, and bowl
1 thing to read- an Olivia book
1 thing to wear- a puddle jumper for when we go to the pool
1 thing you want- a water and sand table!

What a great holiday week! Enjoy the pictures!

(And I didn't gain a pound thanks to having the stomach flu....)

6 ways I save $$$

Throughout the day I always do something that reminds me that I need to write a blog, or I come across something that would be a good topic for a blog...but those ideas are always short lived and with a few passing minutes I forget what my thought was. AND THEN....when I go to write the blog I have no idea what to say.

So I will just write about a few money savers:

Lately Scott and I have been giving more thought to the money that we spend on a monthly basis. We sat down and discussed where to cut corners, and cut back, so that we can save enough money to be comfy when it comes to selling our home and buying a new one. Here are a few things we do to save $$:

1) no more cable/dish/extra TV

2) make our own laundry detergent- seriously this saves SO MUCH $$ and it could not be easier- we use this recipe- http://www.livingonadime.com/homemade-laundry-detergent-2/

3) make our own dishwasher detergent- again this is super easy and costs MUCH less than buying pre made detergent at the store. We use this recipe- http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/homemade-dishwasher-detergent-revised.html

4) pre plan meals for the week and only buy things on the grocery list (or if there is a super good deal)

5) cutting back on going out to eat- really we don't need the calories of going out to eat, and I already pre planned the meals, so this is not needed much any more.

6) participate in local FREE activities- we have always been a couple that likes to explore what our city has to offer, now we just get to experience things as parents with a toddler attached

And here are 2 things we could give up if we had too, but I would be very sad about:
1) our smart phones
2) our gym membership


Well...u til next time...hopefully I will have a better idea of what to blog about...but to make up for this one here is a cute picture of my baby girl saying "cheese"....

Allie is 16 months old!

How does that happen? One minute you are waking up all night long nursing a helpless little baby, the next you are running around making sure your toddler isn't getting into something bad. I can't believe how much has changed so quickly.

Allie is so super cute right now, and MAN does she have a little personality on her. She is stringing together 2-3 word phrases..."I get it", "no no Rose Rose"', and one of my personal favorites "Thank you mama"- that one melts my heart a little each time she says it. She knows SO many words- I'm thinking over 100 now, from book, to bee, to pumpkin, and turkey (because of the recent holidays). She knows lots of animal sounds, and we are working on counting to 3 (she has 1-2, but not 3 without a prompt) as well as colors. She continues to explore more and more each day, climbing EVERYWHERE, and running around like she owns the place. She has been more assertive lately, becoming more independent and making a few choices. Which in turns means she is more sassy- hitting, throwing, and generally being bad ;-) time outs, and owies are funny, so we continue to redirect her and show her appropriate behaviors- I hope she catches on soon!

This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving- we went to my parents on Thursday, and my in-laws on Friday. It was good to see our family and Allie had a great time entertaining everyone. We also got together with our friends from Troy- one of them just moved back into town from Kansas City, and it is always good to catch up and see our friends- adult interaction is short lived these days. As much as I appreciate the time off work for Thanksgiving I am looking forward to Christmas break. I love spending time with my little girl, she is growing each day.

A few other happenings- I went with a group of girl friends to see the Blue Man Group at the Fox- we paid $65/ticket, however one of the girls used to work at the Fox and was able to get us a refund and FREE TICKETS!!! We sat in the 10th row and it was an awesome show! Also, we had full family pictures taken at Faust Park in Chesterfield. I have attached a couple pictures for your enjoyment ;-)

As far as me and Scott- combined we have lost a total of 40 pounds! We started back in August, and it is more of a life style change than a diet. It is nice to feel better, and get compliments, but the health benefits are priceless. We are eating more dinners at home, and with me pre-planning them I know exactly how many calories I am taking in each day and can plan accordingly. Lately I've been using the My Fitness Pal app, and I have some girls on there keeping me accountable, which has been great. My ultimate goal is 10 more pounds which will put me at my high-school/college weight (currently I am at my wedding weight- but my body is a different shape since having a baby). Hopefully I can make it through the holiday season without going crazy.

Well...sorry for the long update...this is my first post from my iPad ;-)

Until next time!

Well hello again!!!

I had been doing so well blogging, then I got a little busy... But here I am again!!

Last night was Halloween and we took Allie to a local church for a "trunk or treat" inside with games and candy. Then we stopped at the "Haunted Street" in St. John on our way home- so Allie could see what it was like to go door to door... Most of the time she just ran and cried- the only thing that made her happy was a sucker (imagine that). She dressed like a kangaroo, a costume we borrowed from a friend- it was adorable!!

Last Saturday was the annual Apple Butter Festival in Kimmswick. We took Allie and met my in laws to enjoy some apple butter fun! Whew- it was busy and Allie ran around like a crazy woman, my mother in law bought her a cute blue bow and candy cane striped babylegs! Because it was so busy we decided to leave to get lunch, but Allie fell asleep in the car- and we had to head home instead...:-(

Last Sunday we celebrated my nieces 5th birthday and my nephews 4th birthday at their house. This year I rolled up $$$ and put it into balloons, and gave them each a book. My sister in law made AMAZING cupcakes!!! And we had pizza- my favorite :-) Allie was good for the first part of the party, but then she started getting tired running around crazy like, and grabbing all the kids toys, and breakable decorations in the house- so we left a little early.

We have been busy!! Enjoy some pictures!!!

My how the time flies!

I had been doing so well at keeping my blog up to date, and somehow things just got away from me... Oh well :-) I suppose I will update you with a few happenings and then share my weekly menu with you all.

We have been enjoying some of the fall events around town this year.  So far we have been to the St. Ann fall festival and Allie saw her first parade.  We supported Overland and headed up to their Heritage Festival, we browsed all the little tents with homemade "stuff" and enjoyed some live music. We also made it to the St. Charles Oktoberfest (Allie's 2nd time!)  Two weeks in a row we were able to get babysitters and go to a friends house for a BBQ, and then to Oktoberfest in Soulard (it was ok this year- a new location that I was not that fond of...oh and they only had 1 stand with pretzles, WHAT?! Why do you think I go to Oktoberfest?). We celebrated my father in laws birthday a little early, and I was able to visit my grandma last week.

Allie is getting busier everyday! She has started to put a few simple words together, and really she is as sweet as can be :-) she just learns so much each day it is amazing. Oh, and her new "trick" is the wet noodle...when we go to pick her up and it is at a time that she is NOT interested in moving, she turns into a wet noodle and throws a little fit...too funny!

As for my weekly menu I really have not given it much though...so here goes nothing (and YES, I know I made that monthly calendar, but I'm not sure we have stuck to that on more than 3 occasions  :-)

Monday- Quinoa wraps - I just made this up ;-)
-cooked quinoa, black beans, shredded cheese, and veggies (it reminds me of the power bowl from Crazy Bowls and Wraps- without the chicken)

Tuesday-10 can soup (this is my own edited version of 10 can soup)
-1 can rotel-1 can chili with beans-1 can chili without beans-1 can tomatoe soup-1 can veggie soup-1 can diced tomatoes-1 bag frozen mixed veggies-1 pound of ground meat browned- mix it all together on the stove, or in the crockpot.

Wednesday- mini meat-loaves
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mini-meatloaves/ 
-I use bread crumbs instead of oats

Thursday- home made pizza
I use the bread machine to make the pizza dough from scratch, then we add premade pizza sauce, a little Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and toppings of our choice.

Friday- leftovers

**Printable** Blank shopping list

I am attempting to attach a cute little BLANK printable I made a few weeks ago.  Feel free to use it and share as you wish!

Of course the program I used to upload this document reformatted it including my CUTE little fonts...I will have to play around with it a little and see what my best options are.  Thank you for being patient with me as I am still learning :-)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/108493994/Shopping-List-Blank