Week 20

August 26, 2012

Took our week 20 picture at the Brigham City Temple. Calin & I went with my parents, Kenzie and her friend Madi.

It was such a peaceful and exciting open house for me. It reminded me of the covenants Calin & I made 2 years ago in the Salt Lake City Temple. Now that we are bringing a child into the world, eternal family has a whole new meaning. I am extremely grateful that I can enter the Lord's temple to learn more about the meaning of life and be close to Him.

Button Tree Wall Art

Inspired by a blog found via Pinterest, I crafted my own button tree this week!

Jodi's story (click here) was beautifully serendipitous. At the end of her post she told readers that she was no longer making & selling these works of art anymore...(sad face!) BUT she declared that anyone can make them. So, I said to myself, "Yes! Yes, I can make one too!"

I am no artist and I would say my button tree is kindergarten compared to Jodi's masterpieces. However, I am very happy and proud of my kindergarten wall art :) It is proudly hanging on my living room wall.

Big thanks to art by wiley! You inspired me :)

Banana Bread

What you'll need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
1/4 cup cinnamon & sugar mixture

What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with butter. Coat pan with cinnamon & sugar mixture. 

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle desired amount of cinnamon & sugar on top.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes at an angle, then turn out onto a wire rack.

I learned this trick (angling bread on wire rack) from my oh-so-clever cousin Beth. She has the coolest blog ever! http://lizeatsfood.blogspot.com/

The bread literally slid out of the pan

Unfortunately we dove into the bread before I could take a final product picture. Between us, the bread was AMAZING :)

Week 18

August 14, 2012

My emotions are all over the place this week. I'm crying during commercials, getting angry over dumb things and laughing at inappropriate times. I also discovered a horrible secret about pregnancy... it is really TEN MONTHS!!! Full term is 40 weeks & 20 weeks is considered the half way mark. Let's do some math, shall we? 40 divided by 4 (weeks in a month) = 10 MONTHS! Who ever said that pregnancy was only a 9 month deal, was seriously delusional.

Week 17

August 10, 2012

We got to spend a very wonderful weekend at the cabin. I finally got to catch up on some much needed sleep. My pants are starting to get a little too snug...guess it's time to expand my wardrobe :)

Cabin Fun

The girls at Lily Lake

Bruce loved exploring the lake

That's my Daddy. He caught a few fish and fell in the lake...I'd say a productive day at the lake.

Calin & Bruce

Happy family

Kenzie...the dog lady

The pups in a crib

Bruce was actually acting like a real dog for once. He was trying to chase a squirrel and ended up on top of the woodpile.

 

Telling the Family

June 21, 2012

As the oldest child and growing the 1st grand baby in my family, I knew I had to do something super special to tell my family we were pregnant. Enlisting the help of a wonderful photography studio- Barrus Photography  - we set our plan in motion.

Our family was overdue for a family photo so, I set up the session. I made sure to talk to the photographer before and let him in on our secret.

Throughout our session he would have us say "Cheese", "Yes" & other smiling forming words. Towards the end instead of using the familiar smile words he told everyone to say, "Meghan's Pregnant!"

The above photo was the second shot. In the first photo the only person who reacted was Kenzie. Everyone else was just smiling (not realizing yet what had just happened). Kenzie's face is priceless and the funniest thing ever!

She looks disgusted...hahaha! She'll make a wonderful Aunt :)

Week 16

August 6, 2012

Bruce wanted to be in the picture with me and our growing avocado :) This week was up and down. I've been having new growing pains. Who would have thought that growing a baby was hard work??

Freezer Meals...the beginning

I was inspired by fellow bloggers and my financial needs this month to be frugal. With car insurance & student loan payments starting in August my budget was super tight. After mulling it over I decided that with diligent ad study, smart consumerism & detailed planning, I could feed my family for one month with only $100.

In order to accomplish this I decided to make freezer meals! Here is my list of meals:
Spaghetti (4 meals)
Teriyaki Chicken (2 meals)
Chicken & Bean Chili (3 meals)
Slow-Cooked Beef Fajitas (2 meals)
Chicken Pot Pie (4-5 meals)
Chicken Enchiladas (2 meals)
BBQ Pork (2 meals)
Breakfast Burritos (10 count)

{Each bag was labeled}

I will post the recipes next month because I want to make sure they actually work out and taste yummy :) 

Using the local store ads I complied my spreadsheet to price match at WalMart. 

For most of the veggies, I bought a Bountiful Basket for only $15. If you'd like to know more about how awesome Bountiful Baskets are, click the link. 

Calin & I hit the store bright and early Saturday morning. What we couldn't price match at WalMart we bought at Smith's.

The total of my receipts (minus a few misc & household costs)

  $64.59

I made sure to leave some wiggle room for milk, cereal, bread & any pregnancy cravings throughout the month.Using a few items from my pantry, we were ready to start cookin'!

I used notes to keep track of when to check on different foods. Cooking a bunch of meals at one time is definitely not easy!

Filling the pot pies.

It is important to write how to finish cooking your meals :) 

This is one of the pot pies

I used my lemonade pitcher to hold up the bags. Otherwise I would have needed at least 3 hands.

This picture was taken before I was completely finished with all the meals. Pretend there are 3 more pies, 2 enchilada meals & 10 breakfast burritos :)

Calin was such a HUGE help today! He ventured where no husband would dare venture :) Price match shopping at Walmart, cooking, frying, stewing, chopping & baking... ALL DAY LONG. Thanks Honey! You are the greatest husband and will be an amazing daddy

We started at 8:30am & finished up around 7pm

Tired feet & a sore back but a month's worth of meals finished and ready to be eaten!