My Husband the Chef (Tons of Recipes!)

Matt has been a cooking machine and I have been having a blast eating all the deliciousness he's been cooking up! Here are some of the recipes he's made recently and some that we have on the menu for tonight & this week. And now, my mouth is watering...

Here is what we will be nomming on tomorrow night...

Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce

I can't wait to try these. The sauce looks delicious and we have both been craving some shrimp. Yum!

The other night, Matt made Shrimp Caesar Salad for dinner. Summer is in the air and we love seafood in the summertime. He made up the recipe as he went. He's such an amazing home cook! I so appreciate it. (So does Lillian!) I keep telling Matt how this kid doesn't even know how she's so got it made...

Matt's Shrimp Caesar Salad
-Romaine Lettuce
-Caesar Dressing
-Diced Tomatoes
-Cooked Shrimp
-Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Cook the shrimp (Matt said he pan fried them with EVOO but ideally he would have liked to have barbecued them). Then he chopped the lettuce, diced the tomatoes and then mixed it all together with the shrimp, dressing and cheese as well. Mmm! Delicious, light & fresh.

He is also a stud and makes his own croutons...I am not 100% how he does it but they're always seasoned and delicious. He's so cool :) Instagram is why this photo looks like the shrimp are so so pink.

Tonight we are having this Tomato Basil Chicken.
Again, pretty light but I still get my pasta fix. We are having salad on the side as well. I will be having my salad with a delicious lemon vinaigrette that Marie gave to me. Yum!

A few nights ago Matt made another light pasta dish that I was just dying over. Oh my goodness I could have him make this everyday and be totally happy. My favorite one he's made in a long time. I have been telling him this often lately, but this one was definitely by far my #1 pick so far. I would like it again next week :)

Zucchini & Tomato Pasta with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

Another one that I've loved recently is this Tomato Soup he made for me with grilled cheese sandwiches on the side. He made it after I worked a seriously long day and there could have been nothing more cozy to come home to. I had it for lunch the next day, too. Matt liked it a lot too but wished he would have put it in the food processor so the tomatoes weren't chunky. I liked it that way.

I have not been a big pork chop fan lately, but Matt loves them. We compromised the other night with this Pioneer Woman recipe. We watch her show all the time. Matt loves her show so I knew he would want to try this recipe when I found it on her website.

After he made this (along with roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes and an asian salad) I was so impressed. He had to reduce the wine sauce and it was all fancy and he nailed it. He told me that this is definitely the recipe he is most proud of. (My favorite is still that lemon-yogurt pasta...shhh!)

Pork Chops with Garlic & Wine Sauce

While we were in Seabrook I decided to help a little with the cooking as well and made these
Spring Rolls. We will for sure be making these again. Once I got the hang of it, they were pretty easy. We could not find egg roll wrappers so I had to use phillo dough *spelling?*. It was so flaky and kept breaking but I just used tons so they stayed together :)

Homemade Baked Spring Rolls
{I'm a cheater and used her photo instead because mine looks fat and round instead of skinny and roll shaped..oops!}

Yesterday Katie and I made these adorable Hamburger Cookies for my team kids banquet last night. I am regretting making so many extras because I've been eating them all day. Oops!
{This one is my photo!} ; )

We are loving Pinterest for recipes. Every morning or sometimes afternoon Matt asks me to email him the recipe I want for the night and he goes out to the grocery store to buy everything and then comes home and makes it while I'm teaching at night. It's pretty awesome.

Matt's cooking dinner right now and it smells so good! I'm just chillin' in the glider blogging away. Next I'm going to Pioneer Woman's website for some recipes for the week. So fun!

24 Weeks

How Far Along?  24 Weeks

How Big is Baby?  As big as a cantaloupe! My favorite fruit. I asked today if that was legit and it's true, she's really that big. Whoa!

Total Weight Gain:  Had our 24 week appointment this morning so I finally checked. I have gained 17 lbs. I thought I gained a lot more with that so I was pleased :) Matt wants me to gain more. Midwife today said I'm totally fine because Lillian is measuring a bit ahead now. (Good girl!)

Maternity Clothes? All the time. Most of my regular shirts are getting to be too short now. I can still squeeze comfortably in a few though.

Stretch Marks? Not yet...

Sleep: Up and down. This has really been my biggest struggle with pregnancy. I just never know what the night will bring (for example, it is currently 3:20am as I type this...went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 12:50am...can't fall asleep.) While we were in Seabrook I slept like a log. Just never know.

Best Moment this Week: Being in Seabrook with Matt for our getaway was my favorite, and then meeting two awesome girls at my baby class last night was great too!

Miss Anything:  Wine.

Movement:  I like seeing my belly move. At first it was creeping me out and I would even cry because I have a hard time when I'm out of control with my body. Now that I'm getting used to it I am starting to be able to enjoy it more. I really want to soak this all in. I love her so much and whenever it starts to scare me I just remember who is the one making my belly move all around, our sweet Lilly Belle. She has been moving a lot higher now. She used to only move under my belly button towards my pelvis and now I rarely feel her lower, mostly above and right around my belly button (which is terrifyingly close to being flat with my stomach). 

Food Cravings: Jamba Juice & Bacon Cheeseburgers.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender: Sweet baby girl.

Symptoms: Restless legs at night. Weird sleep patterns.

Looking Forward to: We are now registered for our birthing classes. I'm a little worried because I was too late in registering. I am shocked that I am behind on something like this. That is so not like me. I thought I had tons of time. I went to register last night and found that everything was full. So, our last class is 2 days before I'm 39 weeks. Eek!....Lillian...do not come early! I also registered for a Laboring with Confidence class. That one is in July. We are also now registered for our birth center tour at the end of June. I'm so excited for these to start! My "Baby Your Body" class is over now and I made two friends tonight. We're all due within 6 weeks of each other and all with girls. We're going to get together in a few weeks to have a girls day. I can't wait :)

**Appointment went well today. We had it with the other midwife in our practice which I was a little nervous about because I had a bad experience with her on the phone when I was like 10 weeks. She was okay. She wasn't mean or anything. She was quick and to the point. As Matt said when we left, "She was very by the books." To a bit of an annoying fault though. Lillian's heart rate was the same as last time at 146 so that was good. I have to schedule my glucose test in the next couple weeks. I'm not nervous about drinking the stuff, just nervous for 3 blood tests in one day. I hate needles in me. Terrifying (there's another thing to add to my list with grocery stores and many others, Lance! lol). Lillian measured 24.5 weeks today which was good. At our 20 week she was measuring only 19 so she caught up. Good quick appointment today**

Deep.

I'm not sure why I suddenly feel the urge to write this. It may be because it is 3:39am. It may be because I am rocking in our nursery glider while Lillian is moving my belly all around...or moving all around in my belly I should say. Probably a combination of both.

This is my truth. I am not ashamed of this or embarrassed about it (well, okay I am slightly ashamed). I know I am not alone in these feelings and the more I talk about it, write about it, the better it feels. 

So here it goes, my truth: I have not fully "loved" being pregnant. 

I wanted and prayed for this pregnancy, for this child, for years. I prayed to a God that I'm not even 100% sure I believe in. I crossed my fingers. I read books. I asked questions. I prepared myself in every single way I could have possibly imagined possible. And yet, the one thing everyone always told me still managed to come true. "You won't know until it happens." I grew up with a mother who adores children. If she had it her way, she would probably have a house full of 10 kids. (Sometimes we did). When she wasn't taking care of her own children, she had an in-home daycare. We had exchange students. Our life was consumed by children. I grew up at a very young age knowing how to change a diaper, feed a baby, give baths, soothe them, etc. I then grew up to love children. I was a nanny. I am now a teacher. I am fabulous with other people's children. So, naturally, I wanted my own. And prior to what I am currently experiencing...thought I would want for sure to have 4 kids one day.

 I had feelings that the more kids I had, the better a mom I would be. The more of a "superwoman" I would be. The more I would get out of life. The more love I would be able to give and receive. More, more, more...

So now. Bring in the present.

I am pregnant with our first child. 

A friend from high school posted an article just now (she lives in Jerusalem) about motherhood and a woman's real thoughts on it. She wrote, "I became a person the day I stopped being a vessel...". This is where I know I am not alone. There are many truths I am feeling right now, two being the following.

1. I love this child very much already.

2. I will love this child much more when I have my body to myself. 

In the woman's article she describes how she grew up with the expectation of having many children. She never put any thought into the otherwise. It would just be natural for her to of course have lots and lots of children. I feel the same way. I felt the same way. 

There are times when I do get to enjoy being pregnant. Mostly those times are times like now. It is now 3:50am and I am alone with Lillian. I am in her nursery. Matt is sleeping. I see my stomach moving. I feel my stomach moving. I am able to take deep breaths and not fear the movements but instead enjoy them. I have always needed to have full control over my body. Over my life in general. Suddenly, I feel as though that control is slowly being lost. A downward spiral of "it's all up to her now." Not me. Lillian. 

I do like when Matt feels her with me. That is an incredible feeling. Knowing that we have created her together. Knowing she is half Matt and half me. Knowing I get to carry around "our" child all day. 

I am getting off on tangents, I know. The point I am getting at is this. I am slowly but surely learning it is not about how many kids you have, but about enjoying the ones you do have. Being pregnant and owning a dance studio do not go so well together. This is by far the hardest thing I have done. My body is growing everyday; Lillian is growing everyday. Yet, I still have to continue dancing for many hours a day. I am exhausted. Maybe if things were different and I did not have to dance like I do now, I would be able to relax more and enjoy this process more. I'm not sure though. Matt and I want our children to be a good 3 years apart. 

Lately, there are days when Matt and I think just one more child will be incredible. A family of four. 

Then I remember I would do this just one more time and I have mixed emotions. Will I enjoy it more next time because I know what's coming? 

There are times when I feel guilty for not "loving" it. Like I am not a good enough mom because I am not loving seeing my body be moved around. Like I am not a good enough mom because I do not enjoy having my organs be pushed into my sides and feel them jiggle around in my back. My sister-in-law, mother-in-law and my own mom have all made the same comment to me on multiple occasions, "Oh, I loved being pregnant!" Had you asked me 6 months ago what I thought my answer would be, I would have thought no questions asked that I would say the same thing..."I love being pregnant!"...it's just not the case. And yet, I know that I am going to be an incredible mother to this child. I know that Lilly can feel my love for her. Just because I do not love being pregnant, does not mean I do not love her. I'm just not loving the way my body is changing and being so out of control. I know there are some who may be reading this with lots of, "You'll see, that's what parenting is...", "when you're in labor you'll have no control, get used to it -hahaha..". 

Even trying to tell my mom these things, she doesn't like to hear them. She doesn't like to hear that I do not like being pregnant. She keeps telling me, "Oh, you'll like it soon. You'll get used to it." But the truth is, I am almost 24 weeks pregnant. I'm sad to write this. I have just about 16 weeks left feeling Lillian move all around. Am I going to regret not fully enjoying this? My mom and many others would probably say, "yes." 

When I do get sad about it, I remind myself that there have been many times that I have enjoyed this. 

*Feeling her kick for the first time while sitting at a dance convention during a ballet class. The minute the instructor turned on the music, kick-kick. What perfect timing my sweet Lilly Belle. 

*Watching my belly move for the first time with Matt right beside me. First laughing in awe and then crying in fear then laughing again...not fully sure what to feel.

*Realizing from time to time that my belly has grown and we are that much closer to meeting her.

*Nights like right now where I am just sitting in her nursery dreaming of her. What does she look like? Who will she most act like, me or Matt? Will she be funny? Will she be calm or hyper? Will she have Matt's heart...for sure. She already does. 

It's strange, but there have been a few moments this pregnancy where I have thought that she already knows me and understands my feelings. There have been two or three different times now during this pregnancy where I have cried. Stress, arguing with Matt, stress...just regular stuff. And each time as I've cried and started to feeling panicked, she kicks me so hard. She moves all around like crazy. I don't know if I think she's moving more because I become so aware of her being there in those moments, or why, but she makes me feel better. I know she's there and I know she loves me and I know it's all going to be okay. Almost like she's saying, "Mom, don't worry." This makes me believe she's like Matt. Matt has a way of doing this. Even when he's the one who made me cry.

There have been moments, sweet moments, where I have loved being this close to my sweet baby girl.

They are brief moments, sometimes brief as an entire day, sometimes brief as a few seconds, but all ones I will never ever forget. 

Maybe one day I will look back on this pregnancy and forget how hard it was with dance. Maybe I will look back and be able to say "I loved it" because I too had forgotten the hard times. This is what Matt thinks. He thinks that it's impossible for all of these people to have "loved" every single second of it. My mom puked half the time and was on bed rest and I know other's pregnancy's couldn't have been "easy". Yet, when they look back, they tell me they "loved" it. So, maybe one day I will too.

I did have one dance mom/friend tell me, "Don't worry, no one loves being pregnant." Maybe some do. I love moments of being pregnant, but I would never say it was easy. I would never want to do this all over again right away.   

I have just one hope. That Lilly Belle knows how much I love her. That she knows I would do anything for her. I would die for her. Already. This pregnancy has taught me that much for sure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(It is now 4:36am. I have been wide awake since 12:50am.)

Seabrook, WA 2013 Day #2

We're home now. 

We had an amazing weekend in Seabrook. I'd like to go back tomorrow.

Here are pictures from yesterday (April 20th). The weather was much nicer so we headed to the beach twice and Matt grilled out twice (happy man).

Pretty fitting. Matt chose our house partially because we stayed on Lily Lane. Spelt wrong, but still cool. Now is where  you should prepare yourself for lots of bump pictures. (Sorry but I'm not sorry)

Walk #1 down to the beach. Beautiful day.

Best buds.

Matt and Cogsy ran around the beach, found sticks and walked along the water. Lilly and I chilled against the most perfect log and I read. 

Cogsy got so wore out. He chilled with me on our beach blanket and Matt played on his phone before my hands got too cold so Matt and I played catch with our favorite football. 

*I'm obsessed with this picture, Matt's photography skills are impressive.*

Sneaky photographer husband. 

Matt and I were playing catch with our Vero football and Cogsy didn't even flinch. He was wiped!

This was probably 10 minutes after we walked in the door from our first trip to the beach. This was before lunch time. I didn't let them sleep because I was starving. Matt grilled a steak for himself and had a steak sandwich for lunch and I had a toasted tuna & tomato sandwich. Yum!

Handsome hubby :)

Walk #2 to the beach after lunch. Weather was dry but no sun at this time. Prior to coming down this time we bought Cogsy a toy to play with at the beach and I bought Matt (and Lilly) a surprise in the bookstore while him and Cogsy were walking........

Meet Opie the Octopus! Matt was so so happy! It's the most hilarious kite. When you tug at it, she moves like a jelly fish in the sky. I decided pink was appropriate and made me feel more justifiable to be buying a kite saying it was for Matt and Lilly : ) (It's so Matt's. He was so so happy flying it!) He decided she needed a funny voice and was talking to my belly in "Opie's voice" lol. 

Matt got Opie pretty high! (Pain to reel in...)

We had just reeled Opie in and got done taking the sand picture when all of a sudden BAM super high winds and rain sleeting into our faces. Sideways rain on the beach. With a long.......walk back to our house (well...not long, but up hill). This mama was not happy. My face was dripping and freezing. Soaking wet hair when you're fighting a cold is not fun. Opie got all wet. My new books I bought for Lilly at the bookstore got wet. I was happy when we got home and dry :) 

Matt and I made THE best dinner when we got home. We had been planning it for a while and were so pumped when it all came together the way we planned. 

*Sesame Ginger Grilled Chicken

*Homemade Spring Rolls

*Crab Rangoon

*Asian Salad

Matt had some Margaritaville drink and got drunk because it's the first drink of alcohol he's had this entire pregnancy because he's the best husband ever and...it was hilarious! He kept saying "I am not drunk *pause*.... Oh man, I feel terrible, I am drunk!" and then he would start cracking up. I laughed a lot and did the dishes while he sat and cracked himself up some more lol. Then he realized that I had cleared the whole table and done all the dishes while he was in his crazy little world and felt bad again...then laughed again. It was funny : ) I didn't mind it at all. He deserved a good laugh and I love love love to hear him laugh : ) 

Happy man with his grill and drink in hand : ) We're not going to drink in front of our kids so it was fun to just be silly together. Well...to see Matt silly. (Remember, I had chocolate milk) 

I have so many happy memories from this trip. The entire time we were there we listened to Margaritaville Radio on Matt's phone. Jammed to some serious Jimmy Buffet. We did the same thing last year in Seabrook. Love this tradition. Once again, Cogsy was the happiest dog on the planet. 

I soaked it all in. Matt would ask me lots of times, "Whats wrong?" while I'd be quiet. Nothing was ever wrong, I was just soaking in our last trip together alone. Makes me pretty sad. I'm having a super hard time with it so I held onto hugs extra long and laughed extra hard. 

This morning I held onto Matt's hug in the kitchen as we were packing up for a good 3 minutes. He kept laughing and saying, "Okay okay honey!" but I wouldn't let go. I soaked it all in. 

I have a few more pictures of the house and of Cogsy that I'll do in one last post.

Crazy to think that next year for our Seabrook trip, Lilly will be with us and she'll be 8 months old. Her and Cogsy can explore the beach together. Hopefully she'll be crawling and hopefully she won't mind the sand in her little finger fat rolls :) 

Our trip will be different but better in its own ways. 

We will still play Jenga and Checkers. I can still read on the beach. We will definitely still bring Cogsy. We will still jam to Jimmy Buffet while we make new recipes for dinner. And at night when Lilly goes to sleep we can party together : ) I can have drinks next year, too! She is going to drink a mix of formula and breast milk from the beginning anyway : ) 

I'm very thankful we had this birthday present from Mom and Dad L. It was an incredible trip. I told Matt in the car that I feel so good with "us" right now. We needed a break away from our stresses at home. It was perfect! 

My 25th Birthday: Seabrook, WA Day #1

We are in Seabrook, WA for the 2nd year in a row for my birthday. 

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking :)

DAY 1: Friday, April 19th -- My 25th Birthday!

Once again, Cogsy's love for the beach is making us so happy. Best doggy ever. He loves it here just as much as we do. Arguably, he may love it more.

It was a bit misty when we first arrived yesterday. Hence the hoods :) Thankfully Marie borrowed me a rain jacket so I didn't have to mind the beach in the rain.

We ate lunch at Mill 109 which is the restaurant here in town. Matt saw the water glasses and immediately said, "Here's my phone for a picture of them...I know you want to take one." ; ) I do love mason jars! I almost drank the whole thing of water just because it was fun to drink from the mason jar. I'm sure Lillian appreciated that.

Matt ready for his Chicken Philly Sandwich. Mmm! (Isn't he handsome) ; )

Matt's Lunch.                                                     Chelsea's Lunch.

 

Cogsy hung out in the car and was so well behaved while we had lunch. Matt snuck this photo of him. All the other cars parked were full of barking dogs. Matt went out during lunch to make sure Cogsy wasn't one of them...he wasn't :) He was just chillin' peacefully waiting. When we came back after lunch he was passed out in the front seat. (Notice: bed all set up for him...he chooses Matt's seat instead. Of course).

This was me most of the day. We decided to chill inside the rest of the night. We mostly watched the news following the arrest of the Boston bomber and played Candy Crush. We also played checkers. Matt bought me a game set for my birthday so we could play while we're here. While we were on our Disney Cruise we played tons of checkers in the lounge. It is one of our favorite memories. He thought we could make new checkers memories here in Seabrook. I love it :)

 Birthday presents from my hubby. Unfortunately we have to take the earrings back because they are dangly and were a bit heavy on my ears and made me look funny (I have huge ears already) Matt agreed and we had a good laugh. When I picked them out we didn't realize that. I was excited he remembered I loved them at Target though :) He's good at that.

I also ate almost an entire bag of donut holes while catching up on my blogs. Cogsy nuzzled into my Lilly filled tummy (which he loves to do because he can hear her heartbeat now) and every now and then would sniff longingly at my donuts :)

Matt made one of my favorite dinners per my request as my birthday dinner. Barbequed Bacon Cheeseburgers & Caesar Salad...complete with a Grapefruit Izze. Yumm-O! (Notice: Matt ate one burger...I ate two. Lilly wanted one.)

My new favorite photo of us :) In our happy place and together. (Well...2nd happy place...Disneyland is #1 of course) ; ) 

23 Weeks

How Far Along?  23 Weeks

How Big is Baby?  Size of a grapefruit

Total Weight Gain:  I will know this after our next appt. Probably still 15-20 lbs. 

Maternity Clothes? All pants and half/half with shirts.

Stretch Marks? Not yet :)

Sleep: I'm not sleeping well but not as bad as before. This week I could not get comfortable at night.

Best Moment this Week: Last night I went to my first mommy class, "Baby Your Body". It was fun to be in a room with 8 other women all 22-30 weeks pregnant. 6 of us are due with girls :) 

Miss Anything:  Wine. I'm being honest. I really wish I could have a glass of wine. My favorite, "Matthews" red wine. I "like" them on Facebook and saw they just brought out their two new flavors for the year. Mmm I can't wait!

Movement:  We can now see Lilly Belle moving from the outside. We lay in bed two nights ago just cracking up watching her roll all around. So crazy. 

Food Cravings: Nothing really this week. Still loving Jamba Juice but didn't "have" to have it. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender: Lillian Belle :)

Symptoms: Hip pain, restless legs at night, hard time sleeping, tired (probably from dance though).

Looking Forward to: We are in Seabrook right now celebrating my 25th birthday : ) So...I'm looking forward to s'mores tomorrow night and bacon cheeseburgers that Matt just made on the grill. MMM mmmmm!

When I was 24...

I could do this...

Matt took this photo of me in Seabrook when we went for my birthday last year.

We'll be going back again this weekend for my 25th birthday (on Friday) and I definitely will not be doing anything like this. My birthday photo in the ocean will look quite a bit different this year ; )

Here's to hoping I have an awesome last day of being 24 tomorrow. It was an amazing year. 

Holy Dancing Maniac!

Here we go!

Our spring quarter for dance started this morning at the studio.

I've been working like a crazy woman for the past 3 years trying to grow my business. I cannot believe it will be 3 years in July when I made that phone call and had my first meeting at the Issaquah Community Center. I literally work all the time. I don't have set hours for my office time which means sometimes I work at 7am, sometimes at 3pm and sometimes at 3am! Just whenever I get in my zone that day. 

Spring quarter started today and with that came me getting up super early, heading to Fred Meyer for some office supplies and then opening the studio for our classes. I didn't teach today because I will start my Saturdays at the Community Center on the 27th, but I did talk to all the new families so they would know who I was and got everything all ready. Explained to the parents how we have an outside sitting area now and that they need to stay out there during classes (not a fun conversation), jumped in and taught for the first 15 minutes of class (in my jeans and sweater) when our instructor was running late and then filed about 3 months of papers. I loved it! I love being in the office and just being the owner. Not having to teach, just getting to do the stuff that I love doing. (Not that I don't love teaching--it's just getting super hard--exhausting).

On that note, Monday is the start for me. 

The start of some serious craziness in my schedule.

{these are just the classes that I myself am teaching-we have like 5-6 more that run each day taught by other instructors at other locations we have}

APRIL 15th-JUNE 22nd

(22 weeks pregnant -- 32 weeks pregnant--ow!)

MONDAY:

2-3 Creative Movement 10-10:40 (comm. center)

3-5 Creative Movement 11-11:45 (comm. center)

3-5 Ballet/Tap 4:00-4:45 (studio)

Mini Team Technique 5-6 (studio)

Junior Team Technique 6-7:30 (studio)

TUESDAY:

3-5 Ballet/Tap 11-11:45 (studio)

Preschool 3-3:45

Preschool 3:50-4:35

Boys Hip Hop 6-6:45 (comm. center)

WEDNESDAY:

2-3 Creative Movement 10-10:40 (comm. center)

3-5 Creative Movement 11-11:45 (comm. center)

Preschool 3-3:30

4-6 Ballet/Tap 4-4:45 (studio)

---haul ass to the other side of town---

5-8 Hip Hop 5:10-6 (comm. center)

--haul ass back to the studio--

Team Competition Choreography 6:15-??

THURSDAY:

2-3 Creative Movement 10:30-11:10 (comm. center)

Preschool 3-3:30

4-6 Beg. Ballet (comm. center)

6-8 Musical Theater (comm. center)

FRIDAY:

---sleep---

SATURDAY:

2-3 Creative Movement 10-10:40 (comm. center)

3-5 Creative Movement 11-11:45 (comm. center)

5-7 Dance Combo 12-12:45 (comm. center)

SUNDAY:

---sleep some more---

Look crazy insane? 

It is.

Do I have a choice?

Nope.

Times are tough over here and tough times call for tough people.

I'm ready to knock this quarter out with my big ole' belly! 

We did not have enough kids register at our studio this quarter (which is a sign that I spent way too much of my energy in the wrong areas...mainly that all I focused solely on was the team, which I do not get paid for...oops...I just love them). Not enough kids at the studio = I need to teach as many classes that my schedule possibly allowed for. If there was a class running and I knew I would be at home during that time usually...I took it over. I felt really sad for my instructors who lost hours, but it will all be okay. 

Lesson learned. 

I got this! 

Also realized that this Fall, nothing from my schedule above will change.

So, Lillian's going to need a nanny. 

And that will be okay. 

I have a super amazing plan for this Fall. 

Goal = 150 kids at the studio / 150 kids at the comm. center

Marketing Plan Includes:

-Birthday Parties

-Free Dance Days

-"Parent's Night Out" babysitting nights (I suckered Matt into this one, too.)

-Flyers at the local Elementary Schools on the boards

-Re-Grand Opening at the studio

-Me teaching all the classes again (well as many as my schedule allows)

I'll get time with Lillian. The time I do get with her will be my favorite. 

We may have to have a nanny here like 2-3 days/week and I'll pop into the house when I can. 

I got this.

Matt thinks its a far reach...I say...makes me want it more. 

We started Emerald City Dance with the thought on a spreadsheet hoping for 25 kids.

First quarter, had 95.

When I put my heart and mind to something, I make it happen.

Hopefully my passion for dance and for teaching these kids will be the trick. 

I'm pumped for this quarter. I don't know that I've ever been more excited about a quarter.

Maybe because I know it's my last where it's just myself I have to worry about.

I can just dance and enjoy every second of it.

Wish me luck!!

Jack & Jill Consignment Sale!

Matt and I woke up around 8am this morning and decided to head to Lynnwood for the Jack & Jill Consignment Sale. I registered for this event as a "New Mom" back in January so I've been pretty excited about it. Matt wasn't ecstatic about it (obviously) but he came along for the ride. 

Whoa baby was it awesome!

(Full new wardrobe of maternity clothes curtesy of Haley's closet which is now all in Chelsea's closet! Love you, Haley!)

This is the second consignment sale we've been to now and we've gotten some amazing steals. 

Today we got 5 pajamas, a jean dress, a swimsuit, 4 headbands & a hoodie one-piece all for $19.71!

I was on a pajama mission because that's one of the things we didn't have very many of for her in size 6 months. We ended up getting two size 6 months and 3 for newborn (only because they were a steal all bundled together for $4.00 and adorable). We do a pretty good job when we're there to not go too crazy and stick to the game plan. 

Pajamas - Check!

She doesn't have a swimsuit yet either and we are going to be starting swimming lessons with her asap and are also going to Disneyland in November so she needed that as well. The one we got her looks like it's never been worn. Score.

Swim Suit - Check! 

The headbands we bought because they're adorable and we want her in headbands all the time. Especially if she's going to be a baldy. How annoying is it when people call girl babies "boys". She has plenty of headbands at home that I've made, but these were so dainty and just $2 for the pack of 4. We threw them in our bag last minute while we were in line.
Cute!

I am obsessed with babies in jean dresses so when I saw this one and saw it was just $3.00 and Baby Gap, I couldn't help but get it. I can't wait to get her some fun tights to go under it!

Jean Dress - Check!

The hoodie we got because I am taking Lillian to Wisconsin with me the Fri-Sun after Thanksgiving and it's gonna be chilly! It's also size 6 months so it will fit her through winter here too. (Hopefully)

And it has a hood. I mean, really?!

(She'll fit right in at the studio with those ballerina slippers, too.) 

After the sale (which we were at for about and 2 hours), we headed to Alderwood Mall which we had never been to before. Holy awesome! We had yummy teriyaki for lunch and then roamed around for a while. We discovered the kid section at H&M, resisted buying her anymore clothes (or myself from the maternity section) and then we went to the American Girl store. When I was little I was obsessed with American Girl and always wanted to go to Chicago to the store but never did. I had a Felicity doll and was also the leader of my 3rd Grade (self-created) American Girl Club. (You had to have a doll and books to be a member--I was a bossy little kid, surprise-surprise!) Anyway, it was amazing and I can't wait to take Lillian there for lunch like all the time! They have tea parties there, too. Matt said it was way too overwhelming but was definitely on board for me getting her into it all. Yay! We decided we will get her a Bitty Baby as her first doll this Christmas. I want to buy it now, lol. 

I can't wait to take my mom here when she comes in June. I told Matt I hope she will buy me (I mean, Lilly Belle) the Felicity books in there. Ha! I am also waiting for her to come here until I go back to H&M because she won't be able to resist going crazy in there either : ) 

We will definitely be going back to that mall. 

Tonight Matt scrubbed the floors at the studio and we're going to have hot dogs (beddar with cheddar) for dinner, watch a Disney movie and play Candy Crush because we're obsessed. 

I can't wait for the next Jack & Jill Consignment Sale in September. We're going to bring Lilly & Nana with us to the next one, maybe will come Megan too! We can get toys and books for the beach house! 

Happy Weekend!