Pizza Fun at Babyschool

I received these pictures from Taylor's teacher today.  They got to make their own pizzas for lunch.  So cute.  So grateful that she gets to attend a school/daycare while I am at work that is such a wonderful environment.  Being a working mom is tough - but knowing that she is having fun and learning lots makes it so much easier!

This and That

Last week was Catholic Schools Week at Blake's school - so he had a theme for each day.  Monday was "nerd day"...he was all over that!  haha.  I failed to get pictured the other days - but he sure did love getting into the spirit.


Olivia and Ryan went to the Daddy Daughter Dance.  She just loves this and totally eats up the attention.  This girl is such a little poser.  These pics are all unprompted.  No idea where she gets this behavior from?! ;)


My little beauty isn't so little any more.  This will probably be her last solo Daddy Daughter Dance with her daddy - as Taylor will be old enough to join next year!


Mary and I went to Tip Up Town.  Its an annual tradition.  So much fun - pretty much just a giant winter beer tent on/near the ice.  Woo hoo for a day/night with no responsibilities.  We can't hang like we used to though!

Wed, Thurs, Friday - make up post!

What we're eating:

Monday I made this.  Which I found here - and it was amazing!

Tuesday I had a meeting - so the kids just had a quick dinner of stuff that we had :)

Wednesday I made Chicken Fajitas - yum.

Thursday we had spaghetti - meh to me - but Liv begs for it every.single.day.

Ryan is still kicking a$$ with loosing weight - me, not so much.  I am slowly (VERY slowly) shedding - but I need to kick myself into gear soon.

What we're reading:

I'm in the middle of this.  I like these series - but after 22 they all sound about the same.  Oh well, its a good, easy read :)

Blake and I are currently reading this:

But also finished these two this week:

both so silly and cute :)

 

TBT:

These popped into my #timehop from one year ago.  Just starting Gymnastics.  She still loves it.

Olivia and her bestie Bridget!  Too much sass!

My babies

No time to write much of a post today - but since I have neglected my blog for years, I can just post a few pictures from this past fall.

Taylor wasn't really into posing for the photographer - but she was fine if she was with me.  In retrospect that worked out great - because now I have this picture of the two of us!

 My handsome Blake - looking so very old.

 My precious little Olivia.  Growing up toooo fast - and full of sass.  I wouldn't change that about her at all!

Weekend Wrap Up

We had an awesome weekend!  It was a perfect Michigan Winter Weekend!

I had Friday off of work, so the kids and I, along with my mom and dad went to see Norm of the North!  Very cute - and the kids loved it :).

On Saturday we were able to get out and do some ice fishing.  Ryan has been dying to get out on to the lake.  Prior to this weekend there has not been enough ice - and now there is so he is in heaven!

He caught two fish - so not a success - but we had fun!

 

Maybe someday Blake will grow into these teeth ;)

The whole family got out there!

This is what ice fishing meant to me - enjoying a nice frosty beer and watching them have fun!

Prior to the lake we went to the library.  They had a "Zoo to You" program where they brought animals to the library.  My kids acted like angels, so that was a bonus.  Both Livi and Blake touched the snake -nasty!

Taylor just took it all in!

On Sunday we went to church as a family, relaxed, and had dinner at the in-laws.

Overall - a great weekend!

#TBT

I love Timehop - although it does make me a little sentimental every singe day when I see pictures of how much my kids have changed!

So much has changed since these pictures were posted 4 years ago.  Blake would have been 3 and Liv would have just turned 1.  Taylor was just a glimmer in our eyes at this point!

Plus this picture was taken in our old house.

I don't want to go back to our old house - but I DO miss these two being so tiny and precious :).

Meals this Week

I have been really trying to do a good job with my meal planning and prepping for the week.  I find that when I have dinner planned out each night, our evenings are so much less stressful!

Ryan and I are both trying to eat healthy and cut calories - so meal planning and prep can help us to stay on track.

Since the beginning of the year he has lost SO much more weight than I have.  How is it that men can just drop pounds - and it is so much harder for women?!  NOT fair.  I have been slowly shedding - but an only down about 2 pounds since the beginning of the year.  We are going to Florida in April - so I would love to be more comfortable in a bathing suit by then...

Meals this week:

Monday - Chicken Marsala with Whole Wheat Pasta and roasted mushrooms.

I tried this packaged sauce and it was quick and easy.  Would totally make it again!

Tuesday - Left over Chili 

I had a meeting at Blake's school - so we just had some left over chili from a big batch that I made on Sunday.

Wednesday - Cashew Chicken

I am going to do a version on this recipe that I found on Pinterest.  

*edit:  This was SO good.  Will 100% make again!

Thursday - Quick and Easy Chicken and Avocado Burritos

Also from pinterest - I will tweak the recipe a bit.

*On Fridays we usually just make something quick and easy :)

Taylor Tuesday

Since I was such a good blogger when Blake was a toddler and so good about documenting Olivia's baby years - and so BAD about documenting anything for poor Taylor - today's blog post is dedicated 100% to TAYLOR.......here's Taylor Tuesday!

(poor third child :))

Taylor is 2.5 now.  She and her dad are as close as close can be.  She's certainly a daddy's girl.  He spoils her rotten.  Not sure if it is because of her personality - or because she is the "baby."

I am sad that for the first time in 7+ years we no longer have a baby in the house.

Taylor is in the Tike's room at "baby school" (daycare).  She is thriving.  She goes 4 full days/week.  She loves her friends and teachers.  My sister is the center director - so I know that Tay gets special treatment from her Aunt Mary - and I get pictures and snap-chats throughout the day :).

As of December she is just about 100% potty trained.  We do still use a diaper at nap time and at bed time - but during the day she is in underpants!  Unlike the first two kids, I didn't really "potty train" her - it just kind of happened.  

Her hair is still very curly - which I love.  As it gets longer it is starting to get straighter - but in this picture I straightened it with the straightening iron.

She is such a happy girl :).

Its funny how we "parent" her so differently than we did with our first two.  We are so much more relaxed this time around - but she seems to be turning out just fine.  Ha.

What we are reading...

As I get back into the blogging swing of things, I am going to try to come up with some topics that I can focus on each week.

I will start this Monday with BOOKS...because we love to read.

Olivia and I went to our library yesterday to pick out some books for the week.  The kids and I read a book each night before bed.  We LOVE the library.

After putting the kids to bed, I finished up Never Never part 1 last night.  I have loved the other Colleen Hoover books that I have read - but I did not love this one.  Her other books have been love stories (some a bit on the racy side) - but this one was just odd.  I will probably read parts 2 and 3, because I need to know what happens - but I'm not really feeling it right now.

Blake is obsessed with the Magic Tree House series.  We are currently on book #35 and we have read each book consecutively starting with book #1.  I am ready for a change of pace- but he loves this series.  We read a chapter or two per night.

  

Olivia's pick last night was Pinkalicios.  Liv is ALL GIRL so these books are right up her alley.  Taylor liked it too :).

I'm still alive!!

It just took me about 20 minutes to remember and retrieve my password to even log in to do a post!  I guess that tells me that it has been WAY TOO LONG!  

I often have good intentions of posting on my blog - but have not gotten around it it in virtually YEARS.

2016 is a new year - and maybe (just maybe) I can commit to coming back and posting regular updates.

The most recent pictures of our family of 5 are here:

Blake is now 7

Olivia is 5

Taylor is 2.5

That seems unreal even to me now, as I type that.  I started this blog to document Blake's life when he was a baby - and he is a 1st grader.  Unbelievable.

Now that I have the capabilities of actually logging in - you may here a bit more from me :).