what we've been up to...

We returned from a great visit in Indiana earlier this week and it's just kind of thrown my week off. I still don't really know what day of the week it is :) We had a great time visiting my family and I, once again, was horrible about remembering to take pictures (man, prego brain is not helping me in this area!), but below are a few I did manage to get. We are planning on a lazy weekend so next week I'll be back to regular blogging. And I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and need some recipe ideas...anyone out there got any??

Syd and her Gigi (my Grandma)

Syd and her Uncle P.C. (my brother Nick)

Showing off her new ballerina
outfit from Nana

thrifty tip tuesday

Lots of free samples and freebies this week....

Freebies:

Free Invisible Glass Wipes Sample

Free sample of Lactaid

Free baby food sample from Beech Nut baby food

Free Kids Emergen-C sample

Free sample of Green Mountain coffee (Facebook offer, "like" them and fill out form)

Free sample of Playtex Tampons

Free phone call from a Disney Princess (sponsored by Target)

Free candy or beverage at CVS (Facebook offer: "like" them and fill out form)

Free soft serve ice cream cone with the purchase of Value Meal at Burger King (now until 10/9)

Deals:

Best deals at CVS this week    (from Deal Seeking Mom)

Best deals at Walgreens this week    (from Deal Seeking Mom)

what we're eating this week...

Man, I 'm digging food right now so planning a menu is tough because I want to eat EVERYTHING! :) But, here are the meals I settled on so I hope they prove to be satisfying....

Monday: Crescent Wrapped Lasagna
**Update: I meant to put this in yesterday...a couple changes I make to this recipe that work out well, I use the Crescent seamless dough sheets from Pillsbury (2 cans) which is the same as Crescent Rolls but without the seams so one less step for you! And I use fresh motzerella (sliced) instead of shredded because it's yummy:)
Tuesday: Pork Chops with Cherries (in crock pot)
Wednesday: Taco Salad
Thursday: Italian Meatball subs
Friday: dinner on the road, heading to Indiana!!
(and while in Indiana, I will be eating Pizza King at least once...it's a must! Oh, and LaHacienda cheese dip and chips at least twice :)

And I tried this recipe for Monkey Bread last week and it was NOT good. Turned out super dry?? Can't figure out what went wrong but won't be using that recipe again.

**And I just made these Apple Dumplings and they were yummy!!! (Note: definitely space out the dumplings...I didn't do this and I had a hard time getting the dough to cook completely on the areas they were touching)

wow, has it been that long?

So, I blinked and apparently it's been 10 days since I blogged....how did that happen?

We did have a fun filled week though. We got to see some friends of ours that were up here from South Carolina, Bethany and Mike Collins and their kiddos Ethan and Maggie. And silly me forgot my camera :( But, we had a great time catching up and spending the afternoon with them. Sydney had to take a few minutes to warm up to Ethan and Maggie but she did and was devastated to leave them once it was time.
BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) started back up this week also, which is such a great study! The one I go to is in Columbus (although it's all over the country and world so look for a class near you!) and I get to discuss what I'm learning with the other 15 women in my group and then hear a lecture with the other 500+ women at the Bible Study. PLUS, Sydney gets to come too and while I'm learning she gets to learn the 3 year old versions of the same stories and get to know the kids in her class! We're studying Acts this year and I'm anxious to see what all God teaches me through this study because last year I learned a TON while studying Isaiah. So glad this has started back up :)
And we went to the doctor on Friday and everything is going super with the baby. It had a strong heartbeat of 143-146 bpm and is happily camping out right on my bladder :) Our appointment next month will be an ultrasound so we are hoping and praying this little one is cooperative so we can find out it's gender!
And we ended the week with going to the zoo!! It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect zoo weather. A little too perfect because a lot of the animals were napping, but we still had a good time :) Below are some pictures of our week....

lots of playground time

 

looking at the elephants, they were hiding

sleeping tigers

kangaroos
(Syd wasn't excited to get her picture taken because people
were watching her :)

she LOVED the zoo playground

had fun at the zoo "fall fest"

at zoo entrance when we were leaving

and got a little sprinkle from the fountain

thankful thursday

So thankful....

1. for Josh's brother and family visiting last weekend. We had a great time and it was another great reminder of  how wonderful it is to live so close to family.
2. that BSF (Bible Study Felowship) starts next week!! I have missed going to bible study all summer and I am so looking forward to starting a new study and meeting my new discussion group.
3. for nachos :) I've been craving them the last few days and Josh found the perfect cheese dip, so I'm a happy camper.
4. for hints of Fall!! This cool weather has made me want some apple cider, pumpkin pie, cozy sweaters, carved pumpkins, and candy corn :) Love me some fall!!
5. for good health! We all have a case of the sniffles going on but I'm so thankful that we don't have major health issues to worry about right now. I can handle the sniffles for a few days :)
6. for a day to lay around and snuggle my sicky Sydney while she rests and tries to feel better...the bright side of the sniffles = snuggle time!
7. did I mention I'm thankful for nachos? yeah, I did but they are SO good and I'm going to have some right now....so I'm thankful not only for how good they are but also for their current availability at my house :)

thrifty tips...

Here are the deals I've found this week......

Freebies:
Free sample of Dove body mist from Walmart

Possible free flowers from FTD todat only!!! (Sept 7) if you have a participating florist in your area

200 free photo prints, just pay $1.99 shipping  (See details here, from Deal Seeking Mom)

Free Vicks Vapo Drops  (See details here, from Deal Seeking Mom)

Free Mars Candy Bar  (See details here, from Deal Seeking Mom)

Free Breakfast at Chick-fil-a (this week only!!)

Deals:
Best Deals at CVS this week   (from Deal Seeking Mom)

Best Deals at Walgreens this week    (from Deal Seeking Mom)

80% Restaurant.com gift certificates using the coupon code RDSCALE  (exp today, Sept 7)

what we're eating this week...

We had such a great time this weekend with Josh's brother and family from PA coming over. Sydney had a blast with all of her cousins and all three of us were just pooped out yesterday as we recovered from a great weekend....and I realized as we were resting that I took NO pictures of all the cousin fun :( But as we move forward with our week, here is what I'm planning for the menu....

Tuesday: Chicken and Noodles over Mashed Potatoes (didn't get to that last week)
Wednesday: Salad Bar (lots of toppings...yum!) and/or leftovers
Thursday:  Chicken Lasagna Florentine
Friday: Spicy Orange Chicken over Rice
Saturday: Biscuits and Gravy   (For gravy I just make classic white sauce and add pepper and sausage and it is yummy!!)
Sunday: Leftovers or Pizza :)

A couple of recipes I hope to try this week or very soon....
Pecan Rolls
Mini Monkey Breads
Nutella Cookies

thankful thursday

so thankful...

1. for screens in every window at my house. We have not had this since we moved here and missed out on a whole spring with no cool breeze. It has been AWESOME having some fresh air blow through this house!!
2. for Josh's brother and his family visiting from PA this weekend!!
3. for clothes that fit. Yeah, I'm running out of those and definitely took them for granted when I had a closet full and could just throw on whatever I felt like. Now it's a 30 minute process of elimination until I go back to one of 3 things that are currently comfortable. How did I forget about these really uncomfortable "not ready for maternity clothes but definitely NOT fitting into those pants" days?
4. for having a lot to look forward to :) Now that September has rolled around, we have a lot of fun things going on this month (family visiting, going to visit family, friends visiting, BSF (bible study) starting,  etc) and with Fall (my favorite season) just around the corner there are just lots of fun things to look forward to!!
5. for feeling pretty good today!! Many women have a much worse first trimester than what I've had but mine has still not been a walk in the park. I'm thankful to be just days away from my second trimester and feeling pretty decent today.
6. for what God is doing in my heart. It's been a rough year for me in some ways but one thing that has been so clear to me is how faithful God is, regardless of what is going on. I feel like in the last couple weeks God has been speaking very clearly to me through His word and through one of my favorite books (My Utmost for His Highest) to show me what steps I need to take to continue to grow and heal and He has been revealing to me the things standing in my way (mostly things I've put in my way) of growth and healing. I'm just so thankful for how God works, for his faithfulness to us, and for His gentle yet firm way of guiding us to what is best.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" Isaiah 43:1-3