SOMEWHERE WITH YOU

Kenny and I had a really low key weekend. It seems like everyone we knew was off at the lake or the river but it was so nice to relax. We did get away for a date night Thursday night to go see Kenny Chesney. Kenny loves Kenny Chesney so I surprised him with tickets.

He was playing at Snowden Grove and of course the night we go to an outdoor venue for an outdoor concert it is chilly outside. But I just brought a jacket and it wasn't too bad. The concert was a lot of fun and there was spectacular people watching.

The rest of the weekend we hung out at home and went for a walk on the Greenline. We stopped in for some gelato at Cheffie's while we were on the Greenline and it was delicious. And Monday we grilled ribs and watched movies.

And ate up every second with this little girl. Love her more and more every day!

WEIGHT WATCHERS WEDNESDAY

POST CRUISE EDITION
DUN DUN DUN

So what you have heard about cruises is true. They feed you to death. There is food available to you 24/7. And while I honestly feel like I did not eat all that much I did drink a lot of calories. Traveling for business I felt like we socially drank more than we would have if it had just been Kenny and I. But oh well. I enjoyed every sip of those Pina Coladas and now I must pay the price.

So since last Weight Watchers Wednesday I have gained
3.2 lbs...Wop Wop Wop

So 5 lbs to go until pre-pregnancy weight

19 lbs to go to reach my goal weight!

One of the post vacation problems I have been having with staying on track is my body got accustomed to the larger amount of calories so now I am S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G all the time. Making it harder to be accountable. I am trying.

The week before the cruise I did make this Baked Spaghetti Recipe and it was excellent. So good I was kind of nervous I had not counted the points right on it. It taste a lot like Lasagna only with spaghetti noodles.


Baked Spaghetti
~
12 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
1 lb 96% lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups no-sugar-added spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu No Sugar Added Tomato and Basil Sauce)
4 cups 1% cottage cheese
2 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Here is what I used and it worked great!)
~
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. In a large skillet, brown beef, onion, and garlic. Drain fat. Add spaghetti sauce and heat through. Meanwhile, combine cottage cheese, 2 cups, mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. In a 9x13 casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, layer 1 cup of meat mixture, half the spaghetti, half the cheese, and half the remaining meat mixture. Repeat layers. Dish will be very full. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and add remaining cheeses. Bake an addition 10 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.
10 servings

WOOPS!

So yesterday I woke up thinking I would take Elle to her physical therapy appointment, run some errands and stop by Chick Fil A for a sammy and some sweet potato fries and head home. Such a nice little day planned.

Not so much.
I backed into a concrete pole in the parking garage leaving Elle's appointment. I cannot believe I did this much damage!!!

Ugggg! So the car is in the shop now and I am driving one of these now. Freakin Fantastic!

CRUISIN TOGETHER

I was mysteriously absent from the blog last week because Kenny and I were on a boat sailing around the Bahamas. Last week was our five year anniversary (still cannot believe that it has been five years) so when were invited to go on a cruise through Kenny's job it was perfect timing. We traveled with a group of around 25 people that we knew so it made it a lot of fun.

The port we left from was Miami. We stayed at the Hotel Clinton in South Beach which was right next to DASH!



The Sunday night before we left we walked around South Beach and ate dinner on Ocean Drive. I decided I am NOT a fan of Miami.At.All. Never want to go back there unless I am getting on another boat. One night was more than enough for me.

Monday we boarded the boat. This was Kenny and I's first cruise so we were interested to see if we were going to like it. This was the perfect opportunity because it was just a four days. The first day we stopped on Grand Bahama island and Kenny and I have been there before on Spring Break so I stayed on the boat to lay out and read. Which was my main goal for this vacation. To totally veg out, read books, and sleep.

The second day we ported at Great Stirrup Cape which is a private island owned by the cruise line we were on. So you just hopped on a little tender boat and they took you over to the island for the day. The water was GORGEOUS! I did more relaxing and reading.
Despite me slathering on 50 SPF every hour I was in the sun, I still managed to get sunburned. I think there is nothing I can do because I so rarely get sun and I am so fair skinned these days.

On the third day we ported at Nassau and took a catamaran to the middle of the ocean to snorkel. I love to snorkel but have no desire to go deeper or to scuba dive. Snorkeling is easy and is just fine by me.


After our sailing trip we went for lunch at Senor Frog. Ummm so I have never been to a Senor Frogs. There was some excellent guacamole and excellent people watching there.


Every afternoon our group would meet up on the boat and have drinks. It is here where I had many the pina colada which will make for a very depressing Weight Watchers Wednesday but we were on vacation so oh well.
Kenny and I had such a good vacation but were so anxious to get home to Elle. We missed her so incredibly much. When we turned on our phones back in Miami we started getting so many adorable pictures from friends and family who had spent the week with her.


More posts to come because not only did my wonderful mother keep Elle all week while we were gone but she also re-landscaped our yard. So before and after pictures this week!

BREATH DEEP

Because I pretty much have to squeeze my eyes shut every time I back out of the driveway. The sight of my house makes me wantto hyperventilate.

Before:



After:


It had to be done though. Over half of our bushes shriveled up and died after the drought last summer and it looked bad. This will all be landscaped soon but until then I am just praying I don't run over any trash cans or hit a light pole backing out with my eyes closed.

WEIGHT WATCHERS WEDNESDAY WILL BE POSTED ON THURSDAY!

GRADUATION AND A FABULOUS MOTHER'S DAY

This weekend was a huge weekend for our family. First off my sister, the career student herself, GRADUATED grad school with a Masters in Speech Pathology. Hooray!! And she landed a great job right here in Memphis to boot! We are so excited she will be here to continue to watch her niece who loves her grow up and well...for the free babysitting!

My mom arrived in town Friday so we could all celebrate. I cooked dinner and we all just hung out at home. However, Kenny did declare it to be not just Mother's Day but Mother's Day weekend and gave me my first gift from he and Elle. A gift card to Anthropologie. He knows me so well. I have purposely not stepped foot in that store since I started showing a preggy belly because this girl loves a cute new dress and I just would have been torturing myself. We are going on a trip here soon and I can't wait to pick out something new to wear.

On Saturday we all (including Elle) loaded up in the car to attend a reception for the graduates. It was fun to meet some of Annie's friends. It was so funny because we were all sitting listening to a speaker and Kenny was holding Elle and she might have been doing some kind of smelly unladylike things and Kenny was getting so embarrassed. Nobody knew but he was so worried. After the reception we grabbed some lunch at Trolley Stop Market and it was delicious.

Saturday night my extremley helpful friend Mollie agree to watch Elle so we could all four go out to a really nice dinner. Annie loves Italian food so I made reservations at Pasta Italia on the Collierville square. We had so much fun having drinks and talking. We also got a good laugh heading out of the restaurant when my mother ALMOST slipped and took out a little display table they had sitting outside. Luckily, she caught herself.

On Sunday, my mom headed home and Kenny, Elle and I went to the Majestic Grille for some brunch and a mimosa for Mommy. Before we left Kenny and Elle surprised me with Garnet stud earrings. Garnet is Elle's birthstone and the earrings were absolutely perfect. I like very simple jewelry and I would have picked these out for myself. They mean so much to me already and will always make me think of my first Mother's Day.After brunch since we were downtown we of had to act like tourists so we loaded Elle up in her stroller and went and look at the flood. It is supposed to crest tonight and hopefully it will start to recede very soon.

When we got home our friend Wilson came over to pull all of the bushes out in the front of our house because they died and we are about to re-landscape. Pictures to come in later post.

But Kenny made sure that I did not lift a finger all day and wanted me to just sit and relax and spend time with Elle. It really was such a special day and I can't wait to celebrate being Elle's mother for years to come.

And of course Happy Mother's Day to our moms!

My mom

Kenny's mom

FRIDAY FRIDAY

The other day I got an email from my work bff Susan with an image attached. The body of the email said thinking of you...

This was the attachment
She DID spend 8 hours a day with me for over 3 years. I think she knows me pretty well. (i.e. spent every day with me when I was a neurotic maniac of a pregnant woman) Miss her!!

And because she hasn't made an appearance lately. Here is Elle!
Elle watching the news. She is VERY concerned about the Memphis flood.

TWEET TWEET

After tweeting on Twitter for over a year now I have decided I really like it. Besides being able to banter back and forth with people I have never met (ha!) I feel like I just am in the know.

Want to know if a movie that just came out is any good. Chances are someone on Twitter has seen it. Want to cook something yummy. People are always taking pictures of food and tweeting recipes. Not to mention you hear breaking news like the death of Osama Bin Laden loooong before the news announces it.

Mostly the people I follow are personal in real life friends or people whose blogs I read or people who live in Memphis. I only follow a few celebrities because I find that their tweets are often just plugging one of the products they endorse. But there are a few celebrities that I enjoy following like Dane Cook, Lady Gaga and Ann Curry.

Twitter really is a catch all for anything and everything. Plus it gives you something to do when you are in a waiting room, standing in line at the grocery store...you get the idea.

Tweet! Tweet!

P.S. If you want to follow me I keep my tweets private but send me a request! Mal_C_Lacey

WEIGHT WATCHERS WEDNESDAY

Sorry I haven't posted since last Weight Watchers Wednesday. Things have been crazy here in Memphis. My sister is looking at having to evacuate from Mud Island due to the flood and it is Memphis in May and we had friends in town starting Saturday night until Monday morning. I will try to be better.

This week I lost...

1.8 lbs
I am totally excited about this except for it might have been a little more if not for the Mexican food and the Hueys visit.

So 3.8 lbs to go until pre-pregnancy weight!

17.8 lbs to go to reach my goal weight! So slowly but surely I am wittling down these numbers.

Last night I made another Gina's Recipe. Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets. They were very easy and I would compare them to Chick Fil A nuggets. Plus I did several chicken breasts and it made a ton. I served these with some mashed potatoes and broccoli.

WEIGHT WATCHERS WEDNESDAY

This week I lost...

2.2 lbs

YAY!!!!!! Finally some results. I owe it all to actually watching what I eat and making smarter decisions over the weekend. I did not give in to the temptation of a big Easter Sunday Brunch which is what I was dying for.

So 5.6 lbs to go until pre-pregnancy weight!

19.6 lbs to go to reach my goal weight! So excited this number is finally in the teens!

Sesame Soy Meatballs

Last week I made this recipe and it was so so so good! I served the meatballs over white rice. It is a Cooking Light recipe that I saw on someone's blog. Husband definitely said it was a winner and the portion size was huge. I will make it again for sure.

Alright well I am writing this post on Tuesday night and it is time to get get my shoes on and put my i.d. in my pocket and pray a tornado doesn't hit our house yet again. These storms have been so crazy and are relentless.

Why do I feel like Glee will probably be one big weather report tonight. Boo.

EASTER WEEKEND

We had such a great long Easter Weekend. On Friday we took Elle to see the Easter Bunny. I find all Easter Bunnies to be a bit creepy but I felt like we just had to have a picture. She is so little and this is her first holiday. So we dressed her in her little smocked Easter dress and she slept through it. But then she woke up. These pictures just make me laugh!
After the Easter Bunny we all ran errands and went out to lunch together. It was a fun day as a family.

On Saturday I met up with my friend Susan for lunch and then we went to see Water for Elephants. It was really good. I have a hard time liking movies after I have loved the book. And while I still feel like the book was one thousand times better than the movie; the movie was still really good. It was a very pretty movie with the circus scenery. Reese and Rob both looked gorgeous too.

Saturday night Kenny and I took Elle and grabbed some dinner at Huey's and watched some of the Grizzlies game. We won! One more game until we advance in the playoffs. Huey's is next door to my favorite yogurt shop Yolo so we stopped by there to. Ha!

Sunday morning the Easter Bunny came bright and early. Elle had her first Easter basket. It did not have to many things because not being able to eat candy really puts a damper on Easter Baskets. But he did manage to get her a few things. She liked it! Kenny and I had some little happies to.
We decided to forgo church because we were not comfortable putting her in the nursery just yet and we knew that church would be so crowded. So we spent a nice day at home and went for a walk on the Green Line in the afternoon then grilled out for dinner.

It really was such a good weekend and makes me so excited for more holidays as a family.

ROUTINE

If I have learned one thing from having a baby it is that I NEED A ROUTINE!!! I NEED A SCHEDULE!! Let's be honest. I have always been a smidge obsessed with time and being on time. But I never realized that in order for me to feel sane I needed to know what is coming next.

However it is so hard to really and truly have a routine with a baby. In the beginning you might as well hang it up. Its not going to happen. You have to give a newborn what they need and when they need it which leaves you exhausted and flying by the seat of your pants. But as the weeks go by things are getting better. We are falling into a "routine." I am doing some work for Kenny and his boss so I am trying to work in work tasks along with baby tasks. Things are getting manageable. And I am regaining my sanity. So here is a look at our typical day.

5:00 AM- Elle wakes up for a bottle
5:20 AM - Elle goes back into her crib to sleep for a little longer
6:30 AM - Elle starts to stir and fuss over the monitor so I bring her in the bed and we cuddle and she goes right back to sleep
8:00 AM – Bottle
8:30 AM – Work emails and tasks
8:30 – 9:45 AM – Elle usually lays on her Baby Einstein mat which she loves and talks to the little star that lights up and plays music and bats at the rattles and we do tummy time. She's cute. I sit next to her and do work if I have any.
9:45 – 11:00 AM – She goes down for a nap and I rush to take a shower and get dressed for the day. This is also when I make the bed, straighten up the house and do small chores. I am always rushed because she is only napping for around an hour right now.
11:00 AM – Get Elle dressed for the day, Bottle
11:30 – 1:30 PM We go to lunch if we have a lunch date or we load up and run any errands that I need to run
2:00 PM – Bottle
2:30- 4:00 PM – Naptime and work for me
4:00 PM – Elle wakes up from her nap so more playtime and tummy time. Then I will put her in her swing so she can see me or her Lamb chair while I prepare dinner and make the bottles for the night and next day
5:00 PM – Bottle
5:30 PM – Check emails and wrap any work up
6:00 PM - Kenny gets home and daddy-daughter bonding time and we just hang out
7:30 PM - Bath time. Kenny is in charge of bath time and getting her ready for bed while I get dinner ready.
8:00 PM - Elle gets swaddled, fed her bottle then in the crib she goes with her Sleep Sheep. It is rare if she makes a sound after we put her down.
8:30 PM - Kenny and I eat dinner, watch movies or TV
10 PM -Head to bed so we can do it all over again tomorrow.

WEIGHT WATCHERS WEDNESDAY

So umm slow and steady wins the race....

AND DANG IT MALLORY STOP WORKING YOUR HINEY OFF DURING THE WEEK ONLY TO SABOTAGE ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND WEIGHT LOSS IN THE TWO DAYS CALLED A WEEKEND!!!

I lost this week. So I am not totally down. But I know my loss could of been a lot more had it not been for the mexican food and electric green margaritas. The other problem with drinking is I always want bad food the next day. Alchohol just isn't worth it.

Weekly Progress

.6 lbs lost.

So 6.4 lbs to go until pre-pregnancy weight!

20.4 lbs to go to reach my goal weight!

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

I was a little behind in getting my birth announcements out but better late than never! Plus I wanted to be sure everyone got theirs in the mail before I posted it online.

My friend Susan at J Press Designs did such a great job. And we have Elle's 3 month photography session coming up in the next couple of weeks with Molly at Good Golly Photography.

WEEKEND UPDATE

Kenny and I had a great weekend with some one on one time and Kenny got to go see his favorite band in the entire world. Widespread Panic. He has loved them since high school and has been to A LOT of shows. And because we have been together so long I have been to A LOT of shows. It is funny because I am not really that big of a fan but I do enjoy spending time with Kenny in this way because he just loves it so much! I figured after we had a baby that I would never go to another WSP concert but not the case.

Saturday morning my sister came over to babysit and spend some quality time with her niece and we hit the road for Pelham, AL. The band was playing at the Oak Mountain venue. When we got into town we checked into our hotel and then were going to do some tailgating with friends. Our friends weren't there yet so we took a detour to 2 Pesos Mexican Restaurant. It was happy hour. Yall! This place had the most electric green margaritas I have EVER seen in my entire life. I think they might have glowed in the dark. The picture does not even do it justice. Ha!!


After enjoying our extremely green and extremely strong margaritas we met up with everyone else before the concert started. It was a beautiful day and tailgating is always fun.


The concert itself was fun but on Sunday morning I was up early and ready to come home! My sister had sent me this picture on Saturday and I was ready to kiss those cheeks.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

I started reading Spearmint Baby Blog when I was pregnant so if you are with child you should go visit. I love it! She always has great giveaways and I am not really a lucky person so I was so happy to find a email in my inbox letting me know that I had won a Kokpax Carrier!

Kenny and I did not register for any carriers like this, nor had we bought one. The carrier lasts until they are 2 or 35lbs so we will get lots of use out of it. I had to give three fabric swatches choice and these are the ones I chose. I will be happy with any of them! I will be sure to give a follow up review once we start using it!