Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day was amazing. I spent the day in the pool with lemonade in my hand relaxing. Brayden also spent the whole day in the pool swimming around like a crazy child! Since we started swim lessons, he has gotten so comfortable in the water and actually tries to swim away from whoever is holding onto him. He really thinks he can swim on his own. Silly boy! Instead of rambling on about the rest of my day, here are the million photos I took to document the shenanigans! 

The floaty doesn't last long...he would rather be held by someone!

Jumping off the edge!

Splashing of course!

Haha! He only "jumped" off the high ledge once...he wasn't a fan!

Playing with Daddy!

Me with my Grandma and our fancy hats!

Hubby wanted a fancy hat too...so he got the floaty haha!

Of course we played cornhole!

And this was his very short break playing inside. I think it lasted about 10 minutes and he wanted to go back in the pool.

Needless to say, we had an awesome day. I loved spending it with my mother. She is everything a role model can be. I seriously aspire to be so much like her, not only as a mother but as a person. It was perfect to spend the day by her side and watch my crazy son play with his daddy.

Recipe: Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

This was by far my favorite new recipe of the night! Amazingly easy and absolutely to-die-for! Even the hubby said it satisfied his Peach Cobbler craving...and that's saying a lot! Hubby has really high standards for stuff like this. He is from the south and of course everything there is delicious and filled with butter! This recipe was so good, he even had two servings (and so did I!!)

Here is what you need:
-2 (16 oz) cans of peaches in heavy syrup
-1 (18.25 oz) box of yellow cake mix
-1 stick (1/2 C) of salted butter
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
That's all!!

Directions:
1. Pour canned peaches with syrup on the bottom of an 9x13 baking dish. (No need to spray with oil) *Side note: I didn't use all the syrup. I dumped out about 3/4 of the syrup from one can and used all from the other can.

2. Pour dry cake mix on top of the peaches. Press down on the cake mix. *Don't skip this step. I didn't do a very good job and there were a few spots where the cake mix was dry after baking. Not a huge deal but you wouldn't want that to happen all over your dessert.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon. I didn't measure the cinnamon because I am lazy so I just sprinkled some over the top of the dish until I thought it looked like enough. You can always add more after baking. Cut butter stick into 12 pieces and place evenly across the cake mix.

4. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes (uncovered)

We topped the dessert with some vanilla bean ice cream and it was amazing!!

Original recipe from Six Sister's Stuff.

Recipe: Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

This is super easy and it is a family pleaser...even with the spinach, my toddler ate it!
(*Note: Again, this is NOT my recipe. I found this on Pinterest and used the original recipe from the coordinating website. I will have the link to the original recipe at the bottom of this page.)

Here is what you need:
-8 oz. uncooked Rigatoni
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 C chopped onion
-1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed
-3 C cubed chicken breasts, cooked (I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store I already had. Bonus, I didn't have to cook chicken and it was very tender. This is recommended by me!)
-1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomato, undrained
-1 (8 oz) container Philadalphia chive and onion cream cheese
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1.5 C mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Begin to prepare the Rigatoni according to box. Spread oil on bottom of 11x7 baking dish and add the onioin. Bake the onion at 375 for 15 minutes. Transfer onion to large mixing bowl, set aside.
2. Drain and dry the spinach with paper towels. Stir Rigatoni noodles, spinach, chicken, can of tomatoes, cream cheese, salt and pepper into onion bowl. Mix well.
3. Spoon mixture into the baking dish used for the onions and sprinkle the top with cheese. Bake covered with foil at 375 for 30 minutes and uncovered for additional 15 minutes. *Side note: I wish I would have just left it covered the whole time. The noodles that were on the top layer got a little hard. *

That's it though, very easy! And while it was baking, I cleaned up the dishes used so at the end of the meal, all we had to clean was the baking dish! Even better.

The original recipe was from Saving Money Living Life.

Recipe: Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

So if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you will have already seen that I made a pretty delicious meal last night. As I have mentioned before, hubby is only home on the weekends right now so I wanted to make him something special. I started off with these Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits. (*Note: This is NOT my recipe, I found it on Pinterest and then used the original recipe from the coordinating website. I will have the link to the website at the bottom of my page.)

Okay onto the Cheddar Biscuits. Hubby mentioned last week that we should go to Red Lobster so we could eat some of the biscuits. We didn't end up going and so when I found a copycat recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it. I have never made biscuits from scratch before and it was super easy so I am sure ANYONE can make these!

Here is what you need:
Biscuit
-1.5 C all-purpose flour
-1.5 C cake flour
-1 tbsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-2 tsp garlic powder
-12 tbsp (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1.2 inch pieces
-2 C cheddar cheese
-1.5 C buttermilk
Garlic Butter Topping
-4 tbsp (1/2 stick) salted butter
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp dried parsley

Directions:
1. Place oven rack in the upper-middle position and preheat to 425. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and garlic powder until combined. (I just used a fork to combine it all.) Add the cubed butter and use fingers to rub it into the flour mixture. It will be chunky but try to break up the butter pieces evenly. Add in the shredded cheese and use fork to combine. Add in the buttermilk and use fork to combine.

3. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out the dough and place it on the baking sheet. Bake biscuits for 10 minutes. (While they are baking, make the butter topping mixture; directions below.) Remove from oven and brush with butter topping and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Butter Topping Directions:
-In a small sauce pan, combine butter and minced garlic on medium heat. Stir until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant. (1-2 minutes) Add the garlic powder and dried parsley  and stir to combine.

 DONE!  Easy and quick and they are seriously delicious!
This is the link to the original recipe by Portugese Girl Cooks: Scratch Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Bumpdate: 22 Weeks!

Madison is growing so fast already!! She is now 11 inches and weighs 1 pound (about the size of a large mango)! It's so crazy that I am more than half done with this pregnancy and that I only have 18 weeks left....if I make it to 40 weeks! I am kind of starting to freak out...

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I am up 9 pounds from my starting weight. Not too bad but I definitely need to work on eating more healthy food and concentrate on feeding my body foods that will benefit me and Madison. I have been eating way too much processed food lately and that really needs to be controlled!

-Gender: GIRL! And of course I am addicted to looking at Zulily each morning and they have some seriously cute girl stuff. I might be in trouble!

-Movement: Still tons of movement and I am loving it.

-Clothing: Whelp, I may be losing my regular pants pretty soon. They still fit but they are so unzipped when I wear them that I fear people can see my zipper...or worse...undies! Yikes! I always pull my shirt way down to avoid this but it would be nice to not worry about it!

-Cravings: Not many cravings. We will see if some cravings come in the next 18 weeks but they haven't been nearly as strong as they were when I was pregnant with Brayden.

-Overall Feeling: I feel great. I know I am so lucky because I have known a few friends that had girls and had absolutely miserable pregnancies.

-Fears: Getting everything done. I have so much to do before Madison comes and there isn't much I can do about it right now because hubby is gone all week and only home on the weekends for about 6 more weeks. I need things to be taken out to our garage, furniture moved, furniture put together, a closet redone and so on. I am excited to get these things done but I hate that I can't do any of it right now.

On a really exciting note, I got my new Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag in the mail today!!! I am so pumped about this bag but I am going to wait to use it until Madison comes. I want it to still feel new in 17 weeks when she gets here!

Bumpdate: 21 Weeks!

Baby Madison is now the size of a pomegranate and is about 10.5 inches and 12.7 ounces. She can taste now which makes sense! In the ultrasound we saw her swallowing!

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I see the doc on Thursday so I will have an update for my weight next week.

-Gender: GIRL! And I get to shop for adorable things like this!!! *Swoon*

-Movement: Tons of movement way down low. Can't wait for the hubby to feel her!

-Clothing: Wearing mostly maternity shirts and still wearing both maternity and regular pants.

-Cravings: Not too many cravings this week yet. I did buy some hot, caffeine-free tea though and I don't usually have that.

-Overall Feeling: I am definitely tired this week from all the partying over the weekend. I am still managing to be productive so that's good!

-Fears: I still have the same fears as last week but recently Brayden has shown interest in potty training. I am scared to potty train! Haha. I just know that it will be full of excitement and struggles. Obviously though it would be amazing to only have Madison in diapers!

I am really excited to start planning the baby shower and getting things ready for baby Madison. I can't wait to get the nursery going and see how it all comes together...hopefully it looks the way it does in my head!  I have TONS of cleaning and organizing to do before Madison gets here so I think once I get going, it will all come together quickly.

AANNNDDD, I am now the proud new owner of the amazing diaper bag on the left! So excited to have a backpack diaper bag that will give me two free hands! Also, the art on the right is my inspiration for Madison's nursery. I don't like the saying on it at all but all the colors and the birds and the general feel of the art is perfect! Here is to hoping I can find what I am looking for or I might need to find someone that can paint this on a really large canvas. (Fingers crossed!) 

Wordless Wednesday!

So proud to have a sister I can call my best friend!! And she's crazy...LOVE HER!

 My big boy reading in a chair like it's no big deal...*tear*

He fell asleep on me at the engagement party at 7:45! That's what happens when you don't nap all day!

Working hard on his alphabet puzzle

Always has to be touching Mommy!