Christmas 2013

The Christmas season was so special for us this year, celebrating with Hadley at this fun and tender age and so filled with joy with #2 on the way.  Here are the last couple day of December for us....

 

Reindeer Chow and No Bake Cookies - take that broken oven!



First gingerbread house!



World's sweetest husband surprised me with this :)



Getting ready for our North Pole Breakfast - Reindeer and Snowman donuts!

 

North Pole Breakfast - menu below so I don't forget next year!



 

 

 



In her big girl room - Santa did good!

North Pole Breakfast
This was so fun to put together and the girls loved it. Can't wait to add another to our table for this next Christmas! Here is the menu:

• Bacon and ham
• Crockpot grits via (so delish and they cooked themselves overnight)
• Reindeer and snowman donuts
• Baked oatmeal casserole via
• Santa pancakes (just add strawberries for his hat and whip cream for his beard)
• Hot chocolate with candy cane stirrers

Baby Skeen #2!

We are BEYOND EXCITED to announce that we are expecting another precious little one July 7, 2014! Skeen, party of four!



The pregnancy has gone well my first trimester and very much like my first. I am back on the daily blood thinner injections for my clotting disorders while I am pregnant. My belly already looks like a pin cushion, but this baby is worth every stick!

 

How far along: 14 weeks

 

Gender: Will find out in a few weeks I can not wait! So far, both of us are guessing that it's another girl!

 

Weight gain: Will find out at next appointment on 1.15.14. At my 11ish week appointment I was +1 lb, but then Christmas happened. 

 

Maternity clothes: Not yet, been wearing out my leggings though!

 

Stretch marks: Hoping for none again this round!

 

Belly button in or out: In

 

Sleep: Good...I was exhausted from weeks 6-12 but finally getting my energy back.

 

Best moment this week: Hearing Hadley talk about being a big sis. She keeps asking if it's a boy or a girl and I told her it's too early to know yet. She told me we could ask God....love her.

 

Miss anything: Endurance when running, sushi, and coffee. I'm allowing myself one large cup of joe every morning, mainly for the sake of those around me ;)

 

Movement: Started to feel flutters this week!

 

Cravings: No real cravings, just eating anything I can get my hands on!

 

Queasy or sick: I have had just a little nausea during the 1st trimester, but that is completely gone. 

 

Workouts:  I've still been keeping up with my workouts the first 14 weeks. I usually run 4ish days a week (16ish miles total) and have been trying to do barre 2-3 days a week, schedule permitting. There are so many girls expecting at barre (and instructors!) and I feel like I'll be going to barre more and running less the further along I get.

 

Looking forward to: Finding out the gender soon and getting a real "bump" rather than looking like I've eaten too much! :)

 

Here's a pic of what the bump looks like at 14 weeks...

 

 

 

God is so good!

meal planning monday

 

 

Balsamic Chicken, Asparagus and Roasted tomatoes with Mozzarella (reci below)

Spinach Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken

 

 

White Bean Chicken Chili

 



Teriyaki Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce

Balsamic Chicken, Asparagus and Roasted tomatoes with Mozzarella
Easy, healthy, delicious!

Ingredients

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I always cut ours in half since they are usually ginormous)
1 bunch asparagus
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
4 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup + 1 t spolive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper


Directions

1. Combine 1/2 cup balsamic, 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic powder and pepper into a ziploc bag. Add in raw chicken breasts and marinate 30 minutes to overnight. After marinating, grill the chicken.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the end of asparagus (bend asparagus until it breaks, this is where you should be cutting off the ends). Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil. Line asparagus on the cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on top rack of oven for 8-10 minutes until tender.

3. In a pan, place sliced grape tomatoes in 1 tsp olive oil and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Cook for a few minutes until tomatoes start to get soft (where you can squish them with a fork).

4. Place chicken and asparagus on a serving dish, top with tomatoes and mozzarella. Drizzle with extra balsamic mixture from tomatoes.

 

Five on Friday!

ONE
We have had fun with all the Christmas festivities this year with Hadley. She really is into it all this year - we even started Elf of the Shelf (which she named "Frank" of all things). He's been very mischievous and she loves running and looking for him every morning. Usually I am moving him around right before she wakes up, almost got caught this week!  What has Frank been up to so far?

TWO
I never blogged about Thanksgiving, but we had a wonderful weekend, away from work and spent with our dear family.  Brandon and I ran a 10K on Thanksgiving morning (around 24 degrees when we started!). I placed 5th in my age group and finished the 6.2 miles in 50 minutes (give or take a few seconds) at a pace of 8:10/mile. I was so excited! Brandon finished just a minute or so later and placed 7th in his age group. Post race pic...

Twinkies!

We took Hadley to the Fantasy of Trees that weekend. She is at the perfect age for all the activities and couldn't wait to see Santa! She decorated a sugar cookie (which she consumed in like 2.5 seconds), got her face painted, got a princess manicure, rode the carousel with her daddy, and sat in Santa's lap like a pro (soooo unlike last year - she was terrified of the man).

Me and Brandon managed an amazing date night that weekend with dinner at Blue Coast Burrito (I had the most amazing fish tacos) and then had front row seats at the Amos Lee concert. That man is so talented.

THREE
Hadley really wants a big girl bed for Christmas. Is it bad to admit she is 3 and still in her crib? She's never climbed out but I think we are all ready for her to make the move. She wakes up every morning, "MOMMYYYYY, I NEED TO GO POTTYYYYY." Counting down the days till she can do this by herself!  We ordered her furniture and bedding which should be delivered the weekend before Christmas. Here is a sneak peak!




Bed, nightstand, and dresser

Bedding from PBK

FOUR
Last weekend Hadley came down with the most terrible stomach bug (the pukey kind). We pretty much didn't leave the house all weekend so we are ready for a fun time this weekend with Christmas parties, gingerbread house decorating, and present wrapping!

FIVE
I've been working on Christmas gifts for Hadley's wonderful teachers. I ended up getting these adorable mugs from Anthropologie. I think these are so cute and I can't wait to fill them up with goodies and package them up!

I also ran across these adorable milk bottle measuring cups which I think would be the cutest little present for the cook in your life!

White Bean Chicken Chili reci

I need to blog y'all. We've been super busy at work and at home but I promise for pictures and updates soon!  For now I wanted to blog about my new go-to chicken chili. We had a chili cookoff at work today and this new recipe I tried did not disappoint! I want to have it here so I don't forget and lots of ladies were interested in the recipe at work. This is gluten-free and no weird seasoning packets or canned soups.

White Bean Chicken Chili

 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil  
1 yellow onion, chopped  
3 cloves garlic, minced  
2.5 cups chicken broth (I used 2c to begin, and probably added another ½ cup once everything was cooking to thin it out a bit)
16 oz jar of good salsa verde (I used Archer Farms)
2 cans Rotel
7 ounce can diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano  
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed  
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
¾ cup frozen corn
1.5-2ish pounds diced, cooked chicken meat
2 cans white beans (I used navy and cannellini)  
Salt and pepper

 Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat, and cook onion and garlic until soft.

2. Stir in spices, green chilies, salsa verde and tomatoes. Stir until well mixed and almost boiling.
3. Add broth and bring mixture to a boil.
4. Add corn, cooked chicken, and beans; simmer for 30-60 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 

*Next time I’m just going to put everything in the crockpot and shred the chicken at end.