What was I thinking?

All I can say at this point is what was I thinking?!?! I put too much on myself. That's for sure! And then we decided to make a coffee table the night before his birthday party when we should be doing other things? Seems just like something Jon and I would do! My favorite part of all of this was putting the "2" together that was a collections of photographs from his entire year. I got a little emotional during it all, but it turned out great in the end! This will prob be a tradition I do for him on his birthdays from now on. I wish I would have started at "1" though. 

Workout: 1.5 miles, 20 minute at home workout. Not the best.

I decided to make cups instead of buying the real Elmo ones. I was shooting myself at about cup #4.

My sis got this shirt made for Finn for his party. It is absolutely perfect!

In the midst of all the birthday chaos, we took a trip to Uncle Nates. Why not?!

My favorite!

Start of the coffee table

We cut a piece of bead board for the top.

Almost finished! Still have to distress it and add poly.

Easter Egg Hunts and Birthday Parties

Today was such a whirlwind day! Between the daycare Easter egg, small birthday party, and preparing for Finn's party, I am exhausted. I bring it on myself. I know that. I try to do too much myself. And I try to save money by not buying the expensive character themed birthday party stuff, but end up spending hours making them myself. Oh well. It is fun... But people (including my husband) must think I am crazy at times.

Workout 4.2: 2 miles, 20 minute home workout (20 push-ups, 100 crunches, 50 sec plank, mountain climbers)

Daycare Easter Egg Hunt!

With the gals!

Cupcake Time!

Getting Ready for the Ball Pit

One of MANY Bags of Balls

So glad we decided on this for his birthday! He loves it!

Here we go again!

The beginning of the month always brings a sense of refreshment to my life. It makes me want to make changes and do things better than I did the previous month. It also doesn't hurt that payday just happened so I don't have to worry about money for at least a little bit.

April Goals

1. So I decided to write a blog once a day again (at least for this month). I enjoyed writing daily in February, and I think that it made me a little bit of a better person and mother during those times. Even if people do not read what I write, this blog can at least hold me accountable to myself.

2. At least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. I would love to have a workout everyday, but sometimes that is not possible with a one-year-old. It could be as simple as walking briskly with the stroller, an at-home workout, etc.  So, to jump start the month off in a good fashion, I woke up at 5 am this morning and went to the gym. I can't say it was the best workout I have ever had, but it was a workout. To hold myself accountable, I am going to add a tab at the bottom that includes my workout for the day.

3. I still want to add a daily picture. This could sometimes be from that day or the day before. Depends when I get to writing the blog. Either way... Lots of pictures to show our journey. And hopefully there will be some good ones this month with our little man turning 2 and Spring Break!

Workout 4.1: Ran 2.5 miles, 20 pushups, 10 mins of ab work

Daycare Pictures

Love him!

I love his hand on his daddy's chest.

The Best Porkchops Ever!

So, if you know me, you know that I am a bargain shopper. I hate buying items that are not on sale! And I sometimes feel that I have a slight obsession with going to the meat counter and seeing what is on sale for the week. For the past two months or so, I have been making an extra trip to the grocery store before I go for my weekly haul. The purpose of this is to get the meat for all our meals, then have the chance to go home and decide what to do with it. If I were to do it all at once, way too much money would be spent! So, this is how I decided on the meal I am sharing below. I rarely get porkchops, but my local store had a great sale. We got 2.5 pounds of bone-in chops for $5.50! And they were so red and juicy when I got them. So, I started on a mission to find a crockpot recipe for my "Slow Cooker Sundays" and found a perfect one. I made some changes to the original recipe that I found, so I wanted to share it with you! We all three ate this up like we had no more food left in the house! Even Finn continuously kept asking for more!

Crockpot Ranch Porkchops

Ingredients:

5-7 Bone-in Porkchops (You could also use boneless, but I think that bone-in has more flavor)

1 1/2 packets of Ranch Seasoning

1 can Cream of Mushroom (I always get the low-fat kind)

1 can Cream of Chicken (I always get the low-fat kind)

Steps:

1. Mix the soups and the seasoning together in a bowl.

2. Place one layer of porkchops on the bottom of the crockpot.

3. Put half of the mixture on the first layer.

4. Add a second layer of chops and the rest of the mix.

5. Heat on high for 3-4 hours, Low for 6-8 hours.
Note:  Just a caution... the longer you cook the meat in the slow cooker, the more it will start to fall off the bone. I like mine still on the bone, so we cooked on high for about 3.5 hours.

Tips: As you will see from my pictures, it goes great with either potatoes or rice. Jon loves the boxed potatoes, so that is what we did the first night. The second night, we used rice and it was just as good. There is so much gravy that is created by this simple recipe.

Sides: Serve with green beans or peas. Also would pair well with corn or roasted veggies. You MUST serve potatoes or rice with this! :)

First night.. served with Mashed Potatoes and Cut Green Beans

Second Night... Served with Rice and French Style Green Beans

Close-up of that gravy. This will be a regular on our menu rotation!

 

This is the original link for the recipe. I changed it just a tad... http://cookingwithgilmore.blogspot.com/2013/07/crockpot-ranch-pork-chops.html