What's Up Wednesday!

Hey y'all!  

Today I am linking up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday fun!  

 It's a little recap of the month and some things I am looking forward to in the coming weeks.  

Here's What's Up on this Wednesday:

What we are eating this week:

Monday we came back from vacation so we ordered pizza.

Tuesday is leftovers.

Wednesday I am thinking pasta and meatballs with salad and garlic bread.

Thursday is Roasted chicken, mash potatoes, mac n cheese or green beans (or both!)

Friday is Groundhog day and I found a cute Groundhog pancake on Pinterest, so probably breakfast for dinner.

What I'm reminiscing about:

I can't stop thinking about our winter vacation and the smile on Elizabeth's face while she was skiing!  I am so proud of her for trying the class and then she wanted to hit the green slope after class.  We had a great trip with friends and it was a nice, relaxing way to "restart" our new year.

What I'm loving:

Ben gave me an oil diffuser for Christmas and it is my new favorite thing!

I use it ALL. DAY. LONG and it leaves me relaxed and happy. :)

 The diffuser in my room when I was sick

 I've only used Lavender because it's one of my favorite scents!

What we've been up to:

We have been SICK.  Well... Ben was sick and then I was really sick.

 

 This was me almost the entire month of January :(

I am hoping we are finally headed in the right direction (although I picked up a new antibiotic today).

I was great for our winter trip and then my cough came back yesterday and was not going away.

Other than that, we have been busy with girl scouts (and all the cookies), Church, visits with family, and avoiding all the cold weather by hibernating inside.

What I'm dreading:

Taking Elizabeth to the dentist and doctor.

She turns six in February which means a well visit and she HATES the doctor.

She also has a dentist appointment in February and her last one consisted of her screaming and crying for 45 minutes.  It. Was. Terrible. :(

What I'm working on:

This list is never ending it seems, but especially with February.  February is one of our busiest months- we have Elizabeth's birthday, our date-anniversary, Valentine's Day, and we usually celebrate Mardi Gras and Groundhog Day.

 Mardi Gras pancakes from Pinterest

 Groundhog pancakes from Pinterest

I'm working on plans/meals/parties/dates for all these events plus we are looking to do some home improvement projects and I am planning and budgeting for those!

What I'm excited about:

Elizabeth turning six!  I just cannot believe she is almost six!

All of the meals/parties/dates/plans we have for February!

Yes, it is stressful.

However, making my family happy makes me happy!

What I'm watching/reading:

I read three books while sick and they were all freebies from Prime Reading.

I am trying to find the names, but can't locate them at this moment.

I've also watched all the TV since I am hibernating/been sick for a month:

Live PD

Scandal

Blackish

NCIS

NCIS: New Orleans

Agents of Shield (what is happening on this show??)

Seal Team

The Mayor (but it got cancelled)

The Crown (we just finished season 2)

Gotham

Lethal Weapon (so good!)

Grown-ish (watched the Pilot)

What I'm listening to:

Whatever the girls pick on Alexa. :)

Usually soundtracks from Frozen or Moana

What I'm wearing:

Pajamas

Sweats

Sweaters

Jeans

Cords

Snow coat

Repeat :)

(again, I'm hibernating)

What I'm doing this weekend:

I have a dentist appointment, picking up ALL THE GIRL SCOUT COOKIES, 

and watching the Super Bowl!

 photo courtesy of Girl Scouts of America

What I'm looking forward to next month:

All the celebrations, especially where my big girl turns six!

Ben and I are celebrating our 10th date-anniversary in February and I am excited for a night out!!

What else is new:

Nothing :)


Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Wednesday y'all!

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center!

During the government shutdown, we headed out to Dulles to the companion facility for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

We took the girls last year and this year we were excited to meet Nana and Pap Pap (Ben's parents) out there.  We met up at Red Robin for lunch and then headed to the museum for a few hours of fun and exploring!

 Not sure why these photos are a little blurry (sorry)

The girls wanted pictures on the cheeseburger seats

 And they wanted a photo with Dad too!

 We did the observation tower first.

These are some view from the tower.

 The tower off in the distance is the ATC tower at Dulles International Airport

 Caroline wanted her picture with Neil Armstrong :)

 The girls loved seeing all the different types of helicopters

 This plane is the only one in the museum from Pearl Harbour 

(it wasn't at the museum last time we were there)

This plane was an unarmed utility craft that was sent up to search for the enemy.

It's current condition is from years of being stored outside.

 The back of Space Shuttle Discovery

 Space Shuttle Discovery

 The girls were able to "fly" a Wright-brothers plane simulator

 Getting instructions

 Taking off!

 Flying through the air :)

 Time to land

 Family photo before we left

 The rest of the weekend was spent with the girls convincing 

Nana and Pap Pap to play candy land as many times as possible.

 Sunday morning we went to brunch at Copperwood Tavern in Shrilington.

It is a farm-to-table restaurant and everything was delicious!!

The food was AMAZING and I forgot to take more pictures.

I started with this apple cider bellini and it was excellent!

We had the duck eggs as a started and I highly recommend them!

I had the chicken and waffles for my entree and they were super good (better than Texas).

She wanted a selfie and then refused to smile :)

Happy Tuesday y'all!

Trolls the Beat Goes On!

Last Friday, Caroline and I headed into DC for a Trolls promotional event.  Caroline has loved Trolls ever since attending Layla's birthday party last summer and she has become pretty obsessed with Trolls toys and the movies.

Allied Washington DC and the Capitol Riverfront were hosting a dance party next to the Canal Park ice rink.  Trolls: The Beat Goes On is an all-new chapter in the life of the Dreamworks Trolls.  Allied Washington DC hosted a dance party, face painting, giveaways, and free dessert treats and hot chocolate!

Check out information for the new Dreamworks Trolls show on Netflix here.  We were excited to be a part of the fun afternoon- the weather was perfect, Caroline LOVED all the Trolls goodies, and we watched kids ice skating for a bit.  Here is a look at our afternoon:

 The first thing they had set-up was face painting.
Caroline isn't big into face painting, but she does like getting her hand painted. :)

 

 She received Poppy's hair on her hand!

It was so cute and the face painting ladies were super nice!!

 Next up was picking up a Poppy hair band!

 Love my little Troll :)

 We watched kids get their picture with Poppy and Branch.

Caroline is still scared of characters so we never went over, but we enjoyed watching other kids do it.

 She's watching Branch and Poppy and refusing to smile for the camera

 We walked around and received a few posters, bubbles, and sunscreen.

They gave us two of everything so we could give some to Elizabeth. 

 Caroline carried her poster like this all day.

  On our way home, she had so much fun!!

 

All our goodies!

Thank you Dreamworks and Allied Washington DC!  We had a blast at the Trolls Dance party!

Happy Thursday y'all!


*All thoughts and opinions are my own*
 

New year, new dinner ideas!

I have mentioned before that I struggle with making dinner and coming up with recipes for dinner.  I decided to look for some ideas on Pinterest and I thought I would share a few dinners that I am looking forward to trying out in the upcoming weeks. 

1. Easy Honey Garlic Shrimp

I found the recipe here at Sally's Baking Addiction and it looks heavenly!  I love seafood, but I am always so nervous to make it at home.  Does anyone else feel this way?  This recipe looks easy enough for me to handle and it only takes 20 minutes!  I already have all the ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry, except the shrimp!  I absolutely cannot wait to make this for dinner!


2. Cheesy Taco Pasta

This looks like a dinner that my kids are going to LOVE!  I grabbed the recipe from here, a very cute website called Dinner Then Dessert.  This dinner also suggests a prep time of 20 minutes (thank you!) and has all our favorite things!  This looks very yummy for one of our cold winter nights and I am looking forward to sitting down to eat this.


3. Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon

Again, I know one sheet/pan dinners are all the rage, so I am going to try this one sheet pan teriyaki salmon.  I found the recipe here and it's from a website called Damn Delicious.   This dinner is a little longer in time, 30 minutes, but I think still manageable.  I am a huge fan of salmon, green beans, and carrots, so I know I will enjoy this dinner.  I haven't made a lot of fish at home, so I am looking forward to getting out of my comfort zone a bit.

Please share any of your go-to recipes below in the comments section, I am always in search of dinner ideas (that kids will enjoy as well).

Happy Thursday y'all!