The Real Housewife of DC: February 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A month of dinners...

Last Friday we had quiche. You can find the recipe here.

On Saturday we had pizza with our family that was in town for Elizabeth's birthday party.

On Sunday and Monday we had leftovers.

On Tuesday we had pasta and meatballs.

Tonight we had roasted chicken with mash potatoes and green beans.

We roasted a whole chicken covered in butter, garlic, basil, parsley.

Bake for 20 minutes at 450 and then 60 minutes at 350.

Rest for 15 minutes covered in foil.

The green beans are from a can and the mash potatoes are from the pre-made Hormel package.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Elizabeth's 1st Birthday Party!

This past Saturday we had our friends and family over to celebrate Elizabeth's 1st birthday. We celebrated with a zebra and hot pink theme and served lunch and cake to our guests.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Newborn to 12 months!

Most recent monthly photo.

Some of the decorations.

Some cheese and pepperoni appetizers to start the party.

Chick-fil-a nuggets, fruit salad, veggie platter, and chips.

And the beautiful zebra cake!

The delicious birthday cake and cupcake for Elizabeth!

Mom and the birthday girl.

Mom, Dad, and the birthday girl!

Happy Birthday our sweet girl!

Enjoying her birthday cupcake!

Opening presents!

Elizabeth loves ribbon!

Birthday Princess!

Happy Birthday to our girl!

Playing with some birthday presents.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

A month of dinners...

Continuing with the month of dinners series (and catching up for this week)-

On Monday, we made Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
12 ounces beef stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 cups vegetable juice
1 cup water
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups cubed potato (about 3 medium)
1 1/2 cups frozen cut green beans
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup sliced carrot

Directions:

Step 1: Place flour in a plastic bag. Add meat cubes, a few at a time, shaking to coat. In a large saucepan brown meat in hot oil; drain fat. Stir in vegetable juice, water, onion, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon granules, oregano, marjoram, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until meat is nearly tender.

Step 2: Stir in potato, green beans, corn, and carrot. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 30 minutes more or until meat and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf.

(this is an Internet photo because we forgot to take one)

On Tuesday we ate leftover stew.

On Wednesday and Thursday we ate pasta and meatballs.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Super Doubles!

Today was the beginning of Super Doubles at Harris Teeter.
I went by on my way to work to pick-up some items I wanted to make sure I didn't miss, then I went back after work and picked up a few more things.

Everything is kinda piled together, so I'll explain all the goodies I picked up!

I got:

(2) boxes of Hefty trash bags
(2) boxes of Hefty gallon storage bags
(2) Hormel Compleats meals
(4) cups of Uncle Ben's rice
(1) bag of Cascade
(2) boxes of Mott's applesauce
(1) Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
(3) boxes of Kraft Mac n' Cheese
(2) boxes of Hefty quart storage bags
(2) bags of Cooked Perfect meatballs
(2) bags of Kraft shredded cheese
(3) containers of Hormel mash potatoes
(1) 4-pack of Strawberry yogurt
(2) boxes of Rice Krispies cereal
(2) boxes of Quaker Granola Bars
(3) cans of Rotel Tomatoes

I had coupons (1 or more) for every single thing I bought. Every item was also on sale.

Original total: $111.91

Total spent: $ 28.37

Total saved: $83.54!!!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Twelve months

Dear Elizabeth,

You are 1 year old!

Happy Birthday! Our darling, sweet girl, today is your first birthday. You (and us) made it through the first year and I can't believe it has gone so fast. You continue to amaze and surprise us everyday with your love, courage, smile, and growing personality.

You are wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 3 diapers, and size 4 shoes. You are eating three meals a day and also getting 1 snack bottle in the afternoon. For breakfast you still eat baby oatmeal with fruit (you love it!) but for lunch and dinner you eat regular/big people food. We also switched you to whole milk around 11 1/2 months.

You love most fruits, but your favorite is a banana. You also like honey dew, cantaloupe, and avocados. You love cheerios and can't get enough of them. Your other favorite food is cheese. You would eat cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if we let you.

You currently weigh 19 pounds (you lost some weight while you were sick) and you are 29 inches long. Your dad and I are taking bets on how tall you will be (I'm thinking volleyball/basketball player tall).

You celebrated your first Valentine's Day this month and all three of us went to Chili's. You loved your grilled chicken and corn while Dad and I enjoyed Ribs and Chicken Fajitas. You got cute red and pink shoes for Valentine's Day and you really like the sparkles on them.

All three of us have been sick a lot in the last month so we have not done too much else except relax and try to recover. There was a 10 period in there where you had a fever, your Dad was sick, and I wasn't getting any sleep because I was taking care of both of you. Then, I got sick for a week and the cycle started all over. You still have a cough and a runny nose but I'm hoping it will be gone soon.

For this letter I wanted to recap some of the things you have done/seen in the last year.

You have been to the following states/places: Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the Florida Keys (including Marathon Island and Key West).

You weighed 9 pounds 14 ounces and were 22 1/4 inches long when you were born.
You now weight 19 pounds and are 29 inches long.

You have flown on a plane 6 times.

You took a 20 hour car-ride to Marathon, Florida for Christmas and were great the whole time.

You went to your first football game over Thanksgiving at Heinz Field.

You have seen the Atlantic Ocean and played in snow. You love to play in the pool.

You have learned to roll-over, crawl, stand, and cruise. You play with your friends Sam and Alice almost daily. You have met all your Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.
You met Tycho, Kepler, Ada, Emmie, and Ellie.

You can say mama, dada, hi, and red. You love to laugh and be tickled.

You were Baptized.

My darling girl, you are such a blessing to us. We love you more than you will ever know and we want you to know we are proud of you. You have seen and done so much in one short year that I can't wait to see what the next year brings. You continue to amaze us, entertain us, and give us reason to love more than I knew possible. We are so proud to be your parents. Happy Birthday.

Love,

Mom & Dad

Below are some pictures from today: