Meal Plan #22

Wow, what a weekend! The weather was amazing so we were able to do some fun stuff outdoors - including a trip to the zoo! Most of it was captured over on IG so make sure you are following me to see the latest. I'm looking forward to this short work week. Let's see what's for dinner ...

MONDAY: Grill Time!
Anything and everything is going on the grill plus a bunch of fresh fruit on the side. And this yummy looking Hawaiian macaroni salad!

TUESDAY: Ranch Chicken Tacos
We do chicken or pork pulled tacos every once in awhile, but these ranch ones sounded too good to pass up. Plus they cook in the slow cooker, so everything is practically ready when you walk in the door!

WEDNESDAY: Lasagna Roll-Ups
The last time I made these, I did a double batch so all I need to do is pull these out of the freezer and heat up. This will be our meat-free meal this week.

THURSDAY: Ham & Cheese Crescent Rolls
We'll make these with some veggies and dip on the side.

FRIDAY: Dinner Out!
Our house is closing this week so we'll celebrate with a dinner out. It feels nice to be a one mortgage family again :)

5 on Friday

I usually post 5 random things, but today is 5 things I'll be doing over the long weekend!

1. Take the kids to the zoo! There are some newly renovated sections and we are exciting to check them out.

2. Hang out outside with a cold beverage (beer or wine, I'm not picky).

3. Not checking my work email all weekend long. Sorry people, you can wait until Tuesday at 8am.

4. Taking the girls to the Shopkins Swap at Toys R Us. It's a free event and should be lots of fun. Check out your local Toys R Us store to see if they are participating.

5. Sleeping in! All the stress of moving, selling/buying a house and extra duties at work mean I need to catch up on some zzz's.

Have a great long weekend doing whatever you will be doing. Next week's meal plan will probably be posted on Tuesday :)

7 Things to Pack for An Island Vacation

In less than 6 weeks I will be hanging out on the beaches of St. Lucia. I am beyond excited! Aside from being worried about how I will look in a bikini, I have to figure out what I'll be packing. I want pieces that are easy to pack, but versatile to wear for hanging out or going to dinner. Here's 7 things I'm loving right now. Best of all ... everything is from Target or Old Navy so it's all completely affordable!

1. Lace-Yoke Swing Top - this would be perfect for a dinner out
2. Relaxed Suspended-Neck Tank - I could throw this on over my bikini top for a walk on the beach
3. Metallic Gold Heart Tote Bag - you always need a bag and this one is super cute for carrying a few things around
4. Empire-Waist Maxi Dress - dresses are perfect for packing and can be thrown on for a complete look without any effort
5. Ghillie-Tie Gladiator Sandals - might as well be stylish while out and about, these sandals with the super cute tassel detail are perfect
6. Twill Shorts - I have been putting off getting white shorts but these are certainly being added to my closet for this trip!
7. Wide-Strap Espadrilles - I love a good wedge and these are perfect to go with the maxi dress or with shorts for a night out

What am I missing? What else should I get to add before I leave? And of course, if you've been to St. Lucia send me your favorite things to do/see/eat/visit. Yah vacation!

Meal Plan #21

This weekend we let A celebrate her birthday. It's really not until next month, but with it being after school is out she never has many people who can attend. Plus this would be the last chance for her to celebrate with her current group of friends since she will have to switch schools next year with the move. So it was a combination early birthday & goodbye party. We had 11 girls (including our 2) at our house for 3 hours. The husband pulled out his ear plugs at one point and I was happy to only have the girls for a 3 hour window of time. :) We did a Shopkins themed party (because every birthday needs a theme!) and the girls had a blast. I'll have to post the details later. 

On to what we are planning to eat this week! Wednesday is the last day of school so I wanted a fairly easy week and be able to take advantage of some outdoor time after work each day.

MONDAY: Salad & Baked Potato Bar
This is the fastest and easiest way for us to do a meat free meal during the week. 

TUESDAY: Burritos
We have some leftovers from A's party this weekend so everything we need is already in the fridge!

WEDNESDAY: Kids Choice!
We'll let the girls decide since it is the last day of school.

THURSDAY: Chicken Salad Wraps
I've been craving a good chicken salad - we'll serve ours in wraps with fruit and raw veggies with dip.

FRIDAY: Grill Out!
I may turn every Friday this summer into grill night. I love my giant grill so much. Yes you read that right, my grill. My husband's grilling skills are severely lacking but I love grilling more than cooking in the kitchen. We'll probably do burgers since I got some frozen patties on sale a couple weeks ago.

Currently #13

loving. our new house
smelling. not much #allergyprobs
writing. to-do lists
reading. nothing at the moment, I need my next read!
watching. all the movies - we just got HBO after only having local channels and Netflix for the past year and a half
craving. organization, we still have boxes everywhere
obsessing. over how to create new outfits from the clothes I already have
wishing. for a day off work where someone did all my work for me while I was gone - ha!
needing. to get my car washed
wanting. a date night
trying. to adjust to the fact that the girls will be out of school in 1 short week!
eating. all the guacamole - because duh!
drinking. Diet Coke - they are just lucky I don't put rum in it at work ... yet.
feeling. overwhelmed
hoping. to get some pictures hung on the walls at home
clicking. twice on all the pretty pictures on IG

Meal Plan #20

This weekend I accomplished a lot around the house. Of course my Dad and my step-Mom were a huge help in accomplishing some projects I didn't think we would touch for months. And to top it all off I've got a strong and delicious meal plan for this week! Let's do this ...

MONDAY: Breakfast
Pancakes and eggs! This will be our meat free meal this week.

TUESDAY: Tacos
I feel like we haven't done tacos on Tuesday for awhile even though we have Mexican every week.

WEDNESDAY: Chicken & Noodles
It was time for a crock pot meal and A suggested we have Chicken & Noodles this week so I couldn't let her down.

THURSDAY: Tortellini Sausage Soup
For some reason this soup was jumping off my Pinterest board begging me to make it this week.

FRIDAY: Chicken Patty Sandwiches
We'll probably have this with peppers & dip on the side or some other fruit and veggie option.

What's for dinner at your house?

5 on Friday

1. I'm excited to have my Dad and step Mom here for the weekend. Maybe I can convince one of them to paint a room while they visit ;)

2. I don't think I have the ability to talk about my dislike of unpacking boxes any more. #ihateit

3. I'm super proud that A will be running the district wide mile race tonight. I can't wait to cheer her on!

4. Someone at work mentioned that they knew I had a blog - so for all you creepers out there  ... HELLO! Maybe I'll write about you some day soon :)

5. I have no fear of Friday the 13th after the week I've had. It's been an exhausting week all around. I'm glad for the weekend! And for wine. Lots of wine. 

Happy Friday!

About Being a Mother

In honor of Mother's Day this past weekend, I put together a list of things I love most about being a Mom. It is truly one of the most rewarding jobs in my life and I'm proud to call those two silly girls my own.

{in front of our cruise ship in Mexico - June 2015}

they're always down for a dance party
they think of the most hilarious things to say
they only see the best of you
you can always count on them for movie night
their love is unconditional
they are jealous of your wardrobe even when you are not
when people tell you how polite they are, you know you've done something right
their minds are so creative
you love them unconditionally
you are more active so that can keep up with them
they provide random compliments when you need it most
watching them solve a problem on their own makes you proud
their desire to help everyone is eye opening
watching their minds work is inspiring
they can be entertained with something as simple as an empty box
their fits of giggles makes you smile even on the toughest days
they don't know you don't know what you are doing
they look at the world in a different way and make you question things around you
they ask questions about everything and want to suck up every bit of knowledge
watching them grow is completely rewarding in every way
they are always willing to give you hug when you ask
watching them sleep is perfectly peaceful
their desire to understand the world makes you realize how much you don't know
you can learn new things right along side them
the proud look when you can't answer a homework question but they can
they think you are the best mom ever

To all the mamas and future mamas out there, I hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day.

Meal Plan #19

What a weekend! Unpacking boxes, shopping for things to fill the additional 2 bathrooms we now have (we went from 1.5 to 3.5, you actually need a lot of stuff for a bathroom!), swapping out kitchen drawer pulls, painting the entryway, grilling out for Mother's Day, giving my SIL a hard time for turning 30 before me and overall enjoying the warm Spring weather. Phew! I need a nap to get this week started.
Let's talk food ...

MONDAY: Kids Choice
The kids have been begging to pick out dinner and help cook. I'm pretty sure they will pick mac & cheese :)

TUESDAY: Quesadillas
We love to do black beans and cheese - best of all it counts as our meat free meal and nobody is any wiser to my quest to get them to eat a little less meat each week

WEDNESDAY: YOYO
Yep a middle of the week, You're On Your Own - we are crazy over here with our dinner selections.

THURSDAY: Pizza Pockets
We will make these but fill them with things we love on our pizza instead of all the ingredients the recipe mentions

FRIDAY: Sandwiches and Fruit Salad
A is running the district wide mile run tonight. She's been training with the "Run Club" at school for about 5 weeks. So we'll keep tonight easy so we can make it to the race on time. It makes me smile to see her taking an interest in healthy activities. I hope I am being a good role model for both my girls in that aspect of their lives.


I do have to brag that the Taco Tuesday remix we had last week was amazing - go check it out! I may have to feature it in an upcoming post with my own recipe.

5 on Friday

1. Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo - I celebrated at work but at home was pretty chill. With Taco Tuesday every week at our house, I guess we don't get all crazy for cinco de mayo.

2. Today is my SIL's birthday. She is 30 so we'll be celebrating this weekend! Gotta prepare myself for turning the big 3-0 in August.

3. We've been living at our new house but I still wake up thinking I am on vacation or something. It doesn't seem like it's ours yet. I put together this cute little video with the girls celebrating in front of our new place.

A video posted by Allison (@amazingmommy) on May 3, 2016 at 3:43pm PDT

4. I managed to show up 3 times this week on the 'ol blog. Pretty good considering my lack of posts last week. In case you missed it, check out my transition to Spring look here.

5. I've managed to stay up with my reading so far this year. I've made it through 14 of my 30 book goal. Pretty good for for the first week of May. Follow me on Goodreads to see what I've been reading. I am always on the lookout for new suggestions!

Graphic Tee: Transition to Spring

Sometimes I really struggle with how to transition my cold-weather Indiana clothes into Spring. And once I'm in the Summer wardrobe-mode, moving back to colder weather is tricky. I can't be the only person with this issue?! I took my favorite graphic tee (found at Target - just $12.99!) and made it work for both colder weather and something a little warmer.

The outfit on the left was for a weekend of running errands and grocery shopping. The outfit on the right was after my garage sale and I traded my sandals for tennis shoes to take the dog for a walk.

How do you transition your favorite pieces between seasons?

Meal Plan #18

I'm back! Unfortunately the internet doesn't want to work at the new place quite yet so I had to wait until this morning to type up my post. I'm feeling a little less stressed with having a written out meal plan for this week. And moving the majority of our stuff went pretty well over the weekend - minus it raining the whole time :( So let's jump in!

MONDAY: Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
It's been rainy and dreary. I thought this would make the perfect meat free meal that nobody could complain about!

TUESDAY: Tator Tot Taco Salad
I found this in a cookbook over the weekend. You basically put all your taco fixin's on top of tator tots. Not the healthiest idea, but yum!

WEDNESDAY: Ham & Bean Soup
My MIL made and canned a bunch of soup so we'll have it for a quick dinner.

THURSDAY: Spaghetti

FRIDAY: Grill Out!
The backyard at our new place is like you are in some magical forest and not the city. I can't wait to grill out while the girls run around in the yard.

It feels good to have a meal plan put together again! #mealplanning #organizedmama

A photo posted by Allison (@amazingmommy) on May 1, 2016 at 6:26am PDT