Minneapolis - Part 1

 Eating, porch sitting, sightseeing. That pretty much sums up our weekend trip to Minneapolis! It was fantastic and full of great fun with our friends.

First of all, this is the view from our friend's house. Completely gorgeous.

Now you know why we did a lot of porch sitting.

Capitol Building

Dinner that night was a walk across the street to a fish taco restaurant right on the lake.

They had delish waffle fries! I really want some right now.

The best fish tacos evaaaahh. Massive, amazing and $5. Can't beat that.

The next day we went to the farmers market. It was probably the biggest one I've ever been to.

We got lots of fruit and veggies for dinner.

Ummm, you know we had to stop here.

Harriet Brewing Company

Lunch at Punch Pizza. They make Neapolitan pizza that is cooked at 800 degrees for 90 seconds!

That night, we grilled on Lance's beloved Egg.

Fajita veggies in a dutch oven on the Egg.

The non-chefs and their beers. (And some construction next door)

There will have to be a part 2 is lots more...you guessed it...FOOD!

No baby weekend.

This weekend, hubs and I left Coop with the in-laws to come to Minneapolis for some time with our awesome friends here. Can't beat waking up to this gorgeous view every morning, huh? We've spent lots of time eating and sitting on the porch watching all the people on the lake. I never thought I'd think Minnesota was an amazing place to be!

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

Baby #2 is a...

Well y'all, it looks like 75% of you were WRONG!

Baby #2 is a BOY!

We were a bit shocked, but super excited! Hubs is stoked that I won't spend his entire paycheck on tutus and that we have 2 chances to have a child play in the MLB. Hehe.

I think I will reveal names soon!

Baby #2 - 19 Weeks

This is the week I decided that my scrub tops are way too miserable to wear anymore. My pants are still hanging in there, but we're going with T-shirts for my every-other-weekend big girl job from here on out. I also like that I look like a pregnant nurse, not just one that eats her way through the night shift. (As I'm on my 3rd muffin of the night)

(And apparently, we're also going with grainy cell phone pics over the self timer ones.)

How Far Along: 19 weeks

Size of baby: 6 inches. A large mango.

Total Weight Gain: Still holding at 10 lbs. I started walking with my neighbor who has a 9 week old and we are power walking 2.5 miles every weekday. That seems to have halted the weight gain!

Maternity Clothes: Still a mixture.

Gender: This should be my last week not knowing! I can't wait until Thursday!

Movement: Those wiggles are getting a bit stronger. Especially right when I fall asleep. I guess I'm getting prepared. Hehe.

Sleep: Interrupted. I think its time to invest in a body pillow.

What I miss: Normal energy. I haven't gotten the 2nd trimester burst everyone talks about, but I'm holding out hope.

Cravings: Still lots of fruit, popsicles and ice. I'm the girl in the drive thru that just ordered a large ice and nothing else. 

Symptoms: I'm achy! My hips and back feel like I'm 90. Pregnancy is a doozy.

What I’m looking forward to: Finding out the gender this week and getting my shop on!

 
Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend!

Summer Favorites - Kabobs and Pasta Salad {RECIPE}

The last thing I want to do when its boiling hot, is heat up the kitchen. We grill out several nights a week during the summer and I'm always looking for good sides to go with our grilled goods.

This pasta salad recipe is from my Aunt and its delish.

2 Cups snow peas, blanched 1 minute

2 Cups broccoli, blanched 1 minute

2 1/2 Cups cherry tomatoes, halved

2 Cups mushrooms, sliced (I skip this...no fungus among us)

1 Can whole olives, drained

1 Package tortellini, cooked and drained

1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese

Dressing

1/2 Cup green onion, sliced

1/3 Cup red wine vinegar

1/3 Cup vegetable oil

1/3 Cup Olive oil

2 Tbsp parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp basil

1 Tbsp dill weed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

Mix dressing in a jar and shake. Mix all other ingredients and pour dressing over. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

 So I don't have a specific recipe for kabobs, but there is kindof a method to my madness. I cut large chunks of chicken and marinate in KC Honey Teriaki Marinade for a couple of days.

 I toss all the veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder, then make an assembly line.

You can use whatever veggies you like, I just make sure I do it all in the same order. Its really pretty that way. Hehe. These had chicken, yellow squash, zucchini, purple onion, bell pepper and cherry tomatoes.

I should probably get some metal skewers for the frequency that we make these, but I use wooden ones that I soak in water for about 30 minutes before putting the food on.

Happy Cooking!

Go enter my giveaway that's all about cereal on the review blog! I will have 4 week long giveaways this month from General Mills!

Baby #2 - 18 weeks

This is my most fashionable picture yet! NOT. I either ate something yesterday that was covered in ecoli or got a wicked case of the stomach bug. Either way, today I'm nursing a glass of gatorade before the Dr. hooks me up to an IV.

Here is a high quality pic of the 18 week bump

How Far Along: 18 weeks

Size of baby: 5 1/2 inches. Size of a sweet potato.

Total Weight Gain: + 10lbs. Wowza.

Maternity Clothes: Now that my belly is higher, I am wearing a lot of my regular low rise pants. I'm loving wearing lots of regular flowy maxi dresses.  

Gender: We find out the 23rd!

Movement: Wiggles and little kicks. Its magical.

Sleep: Normal + lots of pillows. I hate waking up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, though!

What I miss: I don't think anything right now.

Cravings: Fruit (watermelon!) and popsicles.

Symptoms: I think I'm nesting like this whole pregnancy. I already started planning meals to freeze for after the baby is born.

What I’m looking forward to: Finding out the gender in 13 days! I'm ready to decorate the nursery!

 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Our southern road trip.

Last weekend, my cousin got married in beautiful Savannah, GA. We left on Thursday and drove the 9 hours to my Grandma's house. I wasn't prepared for the heat. Or the gnats. Ewww.

It was the first time my whole family has been together since last October, so we snagged a picture at the rehearsal dinner.

The wedding was all outdoors. I was pretty nervous about being a bucket of sweat by the end of the night (and for my hair...whooo frizz), but it actually wasn't that bad.

 The whole fam once again.

 My uncle and my beautiful cousin.

 Mr. and Mrs!

 The reception (and the rehearsal dinner) was completely gluten free. My cousin is a severe celiac and no one wanted her to end up in the ER on her honeymoon! There were no huge rolls served with dinner, but the food was actually delicious.

 The brother of the groom happens to be Dave from Lady Antebellum. Pretty sure that makes us cousins or something. Hehe.

 The bump didn't stop me from doing the cha cha slide. In the flats I stowed in my purse, of course.

 Love, love sparkler exits!

 The next day, we drove 4 hours down to the Orlando area to see the hubs sister's 2 day old baby girl, Briella.

Isn't she tiny?! I know I will never have a baby that small!

 The kids don't see each other that often and loved playing together.

 We *attempted* a shot of all the grandchildren on hubs side. Cooper wore his "Madagascar" face that was in 6 million pictures from the weekend and baby Briella screamed the whole time. At least we got a cute funny face shot.

Tuesday, we drove the entire 13 hours home. We put the little potty seat in the back of the car and Cooper didn't have any accidents the entire weekend. I am so proud of him! And to whoever invented the in car DVD player is pure genius. I'd french him.

A new fave beauty product.

I am the first person you'll see laying out as soon as the weather even thinks about getting warm. Problem is, living in Virginia gives me waaaay less perfectly sunny, not too hot-not too cold days than California. Oh and instead of a year round pool, its open Memorial to Labor day. Just in time for blazing heat.

Enter the answer:

Banana Boat Self Tanning Mist.

When I realized I wasn't the color I want to be for the wedding we are headed to this weekend and that the back of me is much lighter than the front, I went out on a mission. I needed color. Fast.

This stuff was on sale for $6.50 at Target and this week, you get a $5 gift card if you buy 2. I put on a dark bathing suit and sprayed it on in the backyard. I was scared of it getting all over my bathroom! It sprayed great even upside down and I didn't have to rub it in with my hands. I got dressed about 10 minutes after I sprayed it on and nothing got on my clothes. The bottle says color arrives 2-3 hours later, but mine took about 6 hours for me to see the full color. We will see how long it last, but the bottle says it last several days with one application, but 7 days if you apply 2 layers in a row. The color is really natural and a bronze color, not orange. When Hubs got home from work, he asked why I had been laying out in 95 degree weather!

Overall, I am super impressed and just may be addicted. Forget laying around with my huge belly in this crazy heat!

BTW, this is just my honest opinion of this product. I was in no way compensated for this post, but Banana Boat is more than welcome to send me a case of this for the summer. Hehe.