Meal Plan Monday

How is it Monday already? Hope everyone had a great weekend regardless of how fast it flew! 

My Saturday started with a cool, crisp 9 mile run outside.  Let me tell you, running in cooler weather totally beats the hot humid runs I've been tortured with for the past month.  This week’s run was easy as pie!

After my run I headed to my parents' house to watch the Hawkeyes stumble through the first three quarters of the game only to miraculously pull off a win in the end, whew! 

Only one week until the big rivalry game between Iowa’s two biggest schools, Iowa and Iowa State! 

This year I’ll be heading to Iowa City to partake in the game time festivities, but until then I have another week to get through, which starts with meal planning!

Here's what I've come up with for this week...

Monday:  Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole

Tuesday:  Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Wednesday:  Zucchini Lasagna

Thursday:  Softball night - not cooking

Friday:  Baked Nacho Casserole

Shared with:
Org Junkie 

Football Recipe Roundup

Football season is upon us, and for me it means I've completely lost my husband for the next 22 weeks.  It also means ESPN, Sports Center and Game Day will be showing non-stop on our living room television...God help me!   I happen to love college football, but cannot for the life of me stand NFL football.  The only way you can get me to sit through an NFL game is if there are delicious appetizers on the coffee table in front me.

So for today's post I decided to comb the internet and share with you (what I hope will be) five appetizers that will get me through this year's football season!

1.  Pizza Fries:

2.  Lasagna Dip:

3.  Snickers Pop Corn:

4. Jalapeno Popper Totchos:

5.  Ham and Cheese Sliders:

They all look super delish, don't they?  I cannot wait to start chowing down!

Shared with:

Rattlebridge Farm

Meet @ the Barre

Meal Plan *Tuesday*

The short week has me a bit mixed up so instead of Meal Plan Monday, you're getting Meal Plan Tuesday, better late than never, I guess!

Here's what's on our menu this week...

Tuesday:  Buffalo Style Mozzarella Pork Chops

Wednesday: Spinach and Tortellini Soup

Thursday: Open-Face Turkey Sandwiches

Friday: Chicken Enchilada Mac N Cheese 

Shared with:

Org Junkie

Goodbye Summer!

Long weekends are simply the greatest thing ever, don't you agree?  We had a wonderful long weekend filled with the three "F's" in life...football, family and fun!

Football -  Saturday I spent my entire day here.

Kinnick Stadium, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes! My mom and I woke up bright and early that morning for the two hour drive east and then caught the train into the stadium to watch my beloved team win!  I'm already counting down the days until I can go back again in a couple of weeks!

Family - Sunday we took a little road trip to the lake to visit Ryan's family (yes, Ryan loves to ruin my pictures).

We started the day with a ride on grandpa's boat...

And ended it with a fish fry at the edge of the lake!  No better way to spend a summer evening!

Fun - One of the things I had at the top of my to-do list this weekend was to go through Rowen's closet and put away all of her 18-24 month clothes, which no longer fit (girl is growing like a weed).

After filling up (yet another) giant tub of clothes, I realized she had hardly anything that fit for Fall and Winter.  So, off on a little shopping spree we went!

Thank goodness for Labor Day sales because I pretty much bought out the entire Carter's and OshKosh store in our town!  50% off of everything meant double the pants, shirts and pajamas...score!  All this girl needs are a couple pairs of shoes and she'll be set for Fall and Winter!

We ended the weekend by hosting a BBQ with our good friends, the Wilwerdings.  It's always so fun to see our kids play together - and their bounce house a huge hit!

With that being said, I think it's finally time to say goodbye to summer.  As much as I have loved the warm weather and the time spent outside, I am welcoming Fall (my favorite season) with open arms!

Friday Favorites: Fall

I know, I know!  It's still only August, but I can’t help it.  Around this time every year I start yearning for cozy sweaters, tall boots, and that delicious pumpkin scent!  Without a doubt, Fall is my favorite season! Here are the five things I am most excited about for Fall...

Candles:  The change of seasons also means the change of scents around my house.  The transition from the sweet smelling citrus scents of summer to the warm delicious smell of pumpkin is totally happening at my house this weekend after I go a purchase a few of these babies...

Pumpkin Spice Lattes:   These bad boys roll out Spetember 2^nd and believe me I will be first in line!  Nothing says Fall like sipping a piping hot Pumpkin Spice Latte while strolling through the Des Moines Farmers market to check out the plethora of pumpkins, gourds, sunflowers and giant mums  – EEEEK, so excited!  

Decorating:  There are really only two times a year I go all out to decorate my house.  One of those times is Christmas and the other....yup, Fall!  There are so many cute pieces of fall decor floating around on Pinterest right now --- is September 1st too early to get started?!  

Trick-or-treating:  We took Rowen last year, but she was still pretty young and didn't quite grasp the whole, "knock on your neighbors door, look cute and beg for candy" concept.  This year however will be different!  I cannot wait to parade her around our neighborhood dressed as something adorable! 

Boots:  I love me some fall boots!  Enough said!

The swticheroo...

For the last couple of weeks, Ryan and I have been going back and forth trying to decide when is the right time for Rowen to make the transition from a crib to a “big girl” bed.  Lately, when we put her to bed at night, she almost seems “too big” for her crib.  Even though she has yet to climb out, we think it might be time.  In the next month or so we plan to crack down hard on potty training, but before we do, we want to be sure Rowen is out of her crib and can easily access the potty at night when needed.

So, for the past couple of days I have been pondering ideas for her room, and last night I spent a good two hours on Pinterest "oooh-ing and awww-ing" over adorable bedroom designs.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I am so so so IN LOVE with the Jenny Lind spindle bed from Land of Nod.  In fact, this is the bed I am leaning toward going with for her room, but I hate the price.  

I also love the idea of hanging a bunting banner on the wall above her bed and scattering adorable frames and paintings.  So cute!

Check out this bed and all of its storage space, which I think would work well as Rowen gets older, too!

Right now Rowen’s room is pink and blue, but I am about 10 seconds away from changing it after seeing the color scheme in this photo!  Gorgeous!

I am also considering doing something a bit out of my comfort zone with one of the walls in her room.  I love this chevron pattern, but can’t imagine the eye rolls I will get when I tell Ryan that he’ll have to be the one to figure out how to make it happen, haha.

Even though I am excited to have her make the switch, the Nervous Nelly in me still has a lot of questions..

1. What age is the right age to transition?
2. Do we just take the rails off her crib and convert to a toddler bed or should we just bite the bullet and move her straight to a regular bed?
3. What size bed would we get her?  Twin or Full?
4. How will the transition affect her sleeping habits?

Eeeek, I guess only time will tell!  

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Meal Plan Monday

Whew...it's HOT outside!  This past weekend's temps had us jonesin' for the pool almost everyday!  Friday night we headed to a friend's birthday {pool} party, followed by some time with the water table on Saturday and ending with a trip to the wading pool on Sunday!  Such a fun weekend, I didn't want it to end.

Between time in the water, I did manage to do a little grocery shopping, too.  Another week of groceries for under $100 - success!

I only wish I would have known it'd be hot as Hades outside when I planned our meals for the week. Maybe it's just me, but anyone else ever not want to eat a big, heavy meal when it's warm outside?  Oh well, luckily it's supposed to cool off the rest of the week just in time for some dinner deliciousness...

Monday:  Taco Chicken Bowls

Tuesday:  Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Pork Chops - 

Wednesday:  Bucatini Alla Pizzaiola 

Thursday:  Softball night - we'll most likely be eating leftovers from the above.  :)

Friday:  Hawaiian BBQ Quesadillas 

Shared with:

Org Junkie