Currently #11

loving. the time spent outdoors lately
smelling. cleaning supplies, gross I know but the house won't clean itself
writing. a post for next week on home buying tips
reading. I read Career of Evil over the past weekend, I recommend this series!
watching. the latest addition to TGIT, The Catch - I'm liking it!
craving. quiet
obsessing. over Spring clothes
wishing. my bank account didn't look so sad right now, buying a house is draining all my funds right now
needing. to organize all the garage sale stuff so we can sell a bunch of unneeded items
wanting. a date night sometime soon
trying. to remain positive
eating. all the Easter leftovers
drinking. flavored tea - iced of course!
feeling. excited for what the next few weeks will hold
hoping. that all the arguing my children do will make them good negotiators when they grow up
clicking. through all the websites looking for a new chandelier 

Meal Plan #13

Things seem super busy this week so I'm happy to have my meal plan to rely on. Let's just jump right in ...

MONDAY: Sandwiches and Pasta Salad
With all the hard boiled eggs from Easter, we'll have egg salad sandwiches (for those of us that eat eggs) and I'll whip up a quick pasta salad to go along side. Easy!

TUESDAY: Mexican Pizza
These look fun to make and yummy to eat!

WEDNESDAY: Hashbrown Chicken Corn Chowder
This crock pot meal sounded too good to pass up before the super warm weather gets here.

THURSDAY: Stuffed Shells
I have a batch in the freezer that I can pull out and heat up for quick dinner. This is our meat free meal this week.

FRIDAY: Homemade Calzones
I haven't made homemade pizza dough in awhile - I think it's time! We'll grab a Redbox movie and be set for the night.

5 on Friday

1. Today is half day at work, yeah for Good Friday! That makes for a good Friday for sure.

2. We have 2 Easter celebrations this weekend. Saturday I am in charge of dessert. I've been trying to avoid my Sweets & Treats board so I didn't gain 100 lbs, so I was excited to dive in and pick out something yummy. Of course I couldn't pick just one recipe. I'll be making Double Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies and M&M Cookie Bars.

3. I've been pretty stressed lately with a lot on my mind. I've always thought about trying meditation but didn't want to just sit there and try to figure out what I should be doing. I found an app called Headspace that gives you 10 free 10 minute sessions. They are truly awesome. They guide you through the meditations and best of all it's only 10 minutes. I've even managed to get the kids to leave me alone for that long to listen each night. I highly recommend checking it out.

4. I am excited for the warmer weather, the flowers blooming and spending more time outside. I hope I can keep my allergies under control during it all!

5. Last week I shared that I had big news ... and we are certainly excited about it. We are in the process of buying a new house! We found one a couple weeks ago that we couldn't live without and made an offer on the spot. It's got a better layout, larger garage for storing lawn equipment and great location. It's pretty overwhelming as we try to settle all the fiances, get our current home ready to sell and try to start thinking about packing. But gosh am I excited!

Have a great Easter weekend - Happy Friday!

Meal Plan #12

I'm attempting to make the grocery budget a bit leaner the next few weeks. So all dishes were inspired by low cost ingredients or things I already have on hand.

MONDAY: Chili
For the most part all ingredients are reasonably priced, but this one is considered free this week as I previously made a double batch of chili so we will be reheating the other half for tonight.

TUESDAY: Bean Burritos
We set these up bar style, so everyone can assemble their own with their favorite fillings. Not only does this make for a meat-free meal, but all items needed are really inexpensive.

WEDNESDAY: Parmesan Garlic Chicken
Aside from the orzo, I have every item on hand for this crock pot meal. To keep this within budget, I'll swap the orzo for some wild rice I already have on hand.

THURSDAY: Pizza Pasta Bake
Pizza + Pasta = Delicious! This makes a bunch of leftovers and allows you to use up some leftover items from earlier in the week.

FRIDAY: Breakfast
Eggs are on sale right now because of Easter so breakfast for dinner only makes sense!


If you are looking for ways to cut your grocery budget, try a Eat Out Of The Pantry Week at your house. It will cause you to get creative as you try to figure out how to use what you already have in your pantry, freezer and refrigerator to make meals all week. 

Happy Meal Planning!

5 on Friday

1. Basketball is in full force in my office. They convinced me to fill out a bracket. I did it based on who's team had the best colors. Don't ask me who I picked to win, I have no clue. I think they had blue uniforms.

2. Sometimes I come across blog posts that I immediately want to copy because they are pure genius. This week was Sarah's Blank over Blank post. After you finish numbers 3-5 below, please go read it. You can thank me later.

3. Our weight loss competition is over at work and this week I have wanted to eat all the food, all the time. I've been doing a lot of research into Whole30 and I am liking what I am reading for the most part. I may give this a try or at least try to incorporate some of the ideas into my life.

4. I bought myself a new Kindle Fire HD6. Mine was the original Kindle Fire from like 6 years ago so it was time for an upgrade.

A photo posted by Allison (@amazingmommy) on Mar 16, 2016 at 3:28pm PDT

5. I hate when people tease that something big is happening, but I'm going to do it. Something big is happening in our house, but I can't bring myself to talk about it yet. Exciting big, not bad big. How's that for a cliffhanger on a Friday?

Happy Friday!

Meal Plan #11

I did a bit of adulting this weekend ... replacing burnt out light bulbs all throughout the house, buying ceiling paint to do some touch ups and making a to-do list and successfully checking things off it. Now if I can only find something to do with all the frozen overripe bananas in my freezer, I will feel accomplished. I'm taking suggestions :)

This week's meal plan was made up after my desire to eat more fresh produce this week. The lovely folks over at Kroger sent me a ton of produce coupons so I feel like it's my duty to use them up!

MONDAY: Salad & Potato Bar
Tons of toppings so everyone can make a salad & potato to their liking. This is our meat free meal for the week.

TUESDAY: Baked Stuffed Tacos
If you haven't had a baked taco, you are seriously missing out!

WEDNESDAY: Beef Stroganoff with steamed veggies
This slow cooker recipe looks super easy and delicious! And I have a coupon for a container of precut veggies that will be perfect for steaming.

THURSDAY: Kebabs on the Grill
We'll roast up some chicken, peppers and onions on the grill with a yummy marinade.

FRIDAY: On the Go
I think we are going to Indy this weekend to stay with family so we will either eat on the road or once we get down there.

Bonus! I am making a batch of Skinny Chocolate Muffins for breakfasts and kids snacks this week. Yum!

Have a great week and happy eating!

5 on Friday

1. Today was the end of our Biggest Loser competition at work. Let's just say I didn't win. I did lose a few pounds which doesn't make me sad. Looking forward to keeping up some of my healthier habits with #700by7.

2. I have the itch to go on an adventure. I want to pick a random place on the map and just go for the weekend. No plans, just go. Any recommendations in IL, IN, MI, OH or KY to visit? We've already done Chicago, most places in Indiana and Mammoth Cave, KY.

3. I've only had maybe 2 Diet Cokes since the first of the year and they are calling my name very loudly lately. The caffeinated, fizzy goodness of a fountain Diet Coke with pebble ice is in my dreams. It's tough to stay strong. And the new #itsmine bottles are too cute!

4. This warm weather so early in the year is amazing. I wish I couldn't say a single bad thing about it, but my allergies are starting to get out of control. I wasn't expecting to have to start my meds so early in the year. But I will suffer with itchy eyes and a runny nose because it will be 60* on a regular basis for at least 2 weeks!

5. March Madness is in full force in my office. In my area the t.v is right by my desk so yesterday I had a little party going on while everyone gathered around to watch the end of the Michigan game. I have absolutely zero interest in basketball. I'm just excited that we will probably just stop working at noon today and bust the out the beer and margarita machine so everyone else can watch the IU v Michigan game. 

Happy Friday everyone!

Meal Plan #10

The warmer weather planned for this week is making me crave the outdoors and fresh fruit. Hopefully that will make eating healthier much easier for the whole family. Let's jump right in ...

MONDAY: Baked Ravioli
I'm excited to try this recipe. It's gotten really good reviews. We'll use cheese ravioli to keep this meat free.

TUESDAY: Nachos
I make a big pan and then let everyone add their favorite toppings.

WEDNESDAY: Cheesy Chicken & Rice
This is one of my favorite crock pot meals. I make it easier by buying a bag of the frozen rice that you can steam right inside the bag and then adding that when you put in the cheese and corn.

THURSDAY: Burgers & Hot Dogs
The warm weather means we are breaking out the grill again! I can't wait :)

FRIDAY: Take Out
This past weekend we had a reception for my cousin and his new wife and they served a local BBQ favorite. J fell in love with some of their chicken so we'll order their food to-go tonight.

5 on Friday

1. We finally got our taxes done yesterday - so glad that is over with!

2. J's birthday party is tomorrow and I am completely under prepared. Tonight and tomorrow morning will be mad dash to get everything put together.

3. It's been snowing all week and it's gross. I hear 60s (and maybe even 70s) are back in our forecast for next week and I couldn't be happier!

4. As if my work weight loss challenge wasn't enough of a flop, I decided to sign up for 700x7. Maybe I'll finally get motivated to MOVE more often.

5. Out of the last 15 comments I've gotten on my blog, probably 10 of them were from no-reply bloggers. It's so frustrating! I want to respond to your comment, but I can't. If you don't know what this means or you aren't sure if this is you ... read this post from Sarah, it will fix everything!

Happy Friday!

Currently #10

loving. the weekends that aren't too crazy
smelling. cookies ... getting ready for J's birthday party with all sorts of cookies!
writing. more blog posts
reading. Outliers - I'm on a roll with my reading this year
watching. all the TGIT shows - love me some Grey's, Scandal and HTGAWM
craving. calm and organization
obsessing. over the pretty flowers at the grocery
wishing. our taxes weren't so complicated to figure out, grrr...
needing. a free housekeeper, I hate cleaning when I could be doing something fun!
wanting. to try some new baking recipes - my muffin/cupcake tin is calling my name!
trying. to decide what to spend my $50 Amazon gift card on - I'm thinking a new Kindle!
eating. all the Girl Scout cookies, I'm sure that's good for my diet ;)
drinking. Steaz Iced Green Tea. The half tea & half lemonade is my fave! Find it at Costco
feeling. cold, where is spring?!
hoping. to squeeze a mani/pedi into my schedule soon
clicking. on new blogs to read, suggestions?