Weekend Wind-Down

This weekend was one of the most relaxing and comforting weekends we've had in quite a while!

It all started Friday night after my husband got home from work.  Teagan and I prepped dinner and had it sitting on the table when Lance walked in at 7PM sharp.  We made a salad that I found somewhere online-- I was thinking it was a Blog that I follow, but cannot, for the life of me, find the link to the website.  Anyways--Talk about a labor-intensive salad that is oh-so-worth-it...

We chopped. -romaine lettuce, green pepper, onion, salami, fresh mozzarella, olives, parsley, garlic
We mixed. -balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, dried basil, sugar
We combined. -the dressings with the prepped salad
We DEVOURED. -OMG, this salad was so amazing- and light and refreshing, too!

We also made some homemade garlic bread wedges to go with our yummy salad.  I wish I had a picture to show you what it looked like, or exact measurements so that you could go make some rightnow!  Seriously, DELISH!

Just waiting for Daddy to get home  :)

So, after we cleaned up dinner, we picked up the house and packed our bags to head North. We got to see Aunt Lexi get ready for prom.  Teagan insisted that she partake in the primping festivities, too!

Oh-my dear LORD!

Aunt Alexandria and Teagan looking so PRETTY!

Teagie with her Lala

Testing out the new bunk beds at Lala's

<3

A little wedding date with my hubby, 9 days before Juliana's Due Date!

Saturday, Teagan got lots of hangout time with her Lala, while Lance and I went to a no-kids-allowed wedding/brunch.  It was a very nice ceremony, but felt kind of weird to not have our Teagie Tot with us.  Teagan went to a wedding reception with my Mom Saturday night, so she got plenty of dancing and acting crazy in, while I came home and crashed on Mom's most-comfy sofa!

Because we only got one day with Lance (due to his stupid work schedule), he headed back home Saturday night, which left Teagan and I to spend our Mother's Day together with my mom!  My sister, her fiancee and their three kids came over, too.  We definitely missed my brother, but he's out in CA for work.  It was such a nice dinner.

Mother's Day Menu:  BBQ ribs, bow-tie salad, baked beans, twice-baked potatoes and a DELICIOUS trifle for dessert.  It was the perfect ending to a PERFECT weekend!  

Super Quick and Easy Berry Trifle

Ingredients: 1 angel food cake, 1 lg box of vanilla pudding, container of lite Cool Whip, 2 qts. strawberries/ other berries of your choice.

Directions: Mix pudding according to package.  Add Cool Whip.  Cut up the angel food cake into 1 inch chunks (I do it right in the package so it's not messy!).  Slice the strawberries. Create the trifle with the pudding mixture, berry mixture, and angel food cake, and continue to layer until all of the ingredients are used up!  SUPER Quick and Easy, too!!  This is always a crowd-pleaser!

*39 week prenatal appointment for sweet Baby Juliana today, and hoping some progress is being made, as I have been a complete crampy-mess since last Friday :)*

This Week's Dinner Menu

Wow---only 20 days until my due date for little Miss Juliana Kate.  Can't freaking believe it!!  My husband and I sat down to pay bills last night, and as we were making out the check for day care, it hit me that this is our second to last schedule that we will be filling out for Teagie Tot until next fall when both of our girls will be in day care full time--  HOLY CRAP!

I'm so freaking excited to spend the entire summer with my two girls!  It's going to be AWESOME!

 On another note, Juliana's nursery is just about complete.  :) 

So, along with paying bills, it's also time to make out our weekly menu/grocery shop.  My husband and I split the costs of most everything--groceries included.  We usually spend about $140 (combined) on groceries for a full week's menu.  Is that a lot?  What's your weekly grocery budget?  

Here's a sample of this week's menu (LOVING iowagirleats.com for menu inspiration and pure reading entertainment, too!):

Tuesday: Philly cheese steak subs w. garlic red skin potatoes

Wednesday:  Pizza stuffed burgers w. asparagus

Thursday:  Chicken enchilada bake

Friday:  Meatloaf w. corn on the cob, scalloped potatoes (Mom's specialty)

Saturday:  Reubens w. baked beans, pasta salad

Sunday:  Cheeseburger macaroni

***Our normal weekly menu usually doesn't contain this much meat, but it is what is is this week :)

My mom's coming down Thursday to watch Teagan while I'm out of town for work.  She's also prepping us for a weekend of the garage sale that we've spent a month talking about!  I'm so excited to purge my garage with all of the junk that we've accumulated since we moved in our first house two years ago.

Pure Family. Pure Love. Pure Michigan.

My husband and I have decided that we are going to start taking FULL advantage of our family time together, with Teagan, before Juliana arrives.  Furthermore, once Juliana is born, we're going to start spending family time together visiting places and spaces right here in our home state, Michigan!  Because I am taking a very-much-needed ten weeks off of work for maternity leave, this summer is going to be an awesome time to embark in activities and visits, to places that are located in the Mitten State.

Last weekend we visited the Children's Museum--where Lance taught Teagan how to milk a dairy cow.  P.S. for growing up in a small town in Michigan, my husband is soooo not a country boy ;)

We played at the water table, which is the absolute messiest learning station they have at the museum--FYI  :)

We planted some 'Forget Me Nots' in honor of Earth Day!

We played in the maze--mama had a hard time fitting in the little spaces!

We made a stop at the 'Dentist' where we were intrigued with the mouth--and got to sit inside of it!

And finally, we weren't about to call our visit to the Museum complete without a beautiful cupcake face-painted on Teagie Tot's cheek!  By this point, she was SO tired and about to fall asleep.

Overall, we had such a great day!  It was so much fun to hang out together as a family:)  

Not sure who had more fun though, my two year old--or my HUSBAND.  Here he is hanging out at the 'Eye Doctor'!  LOL!

What type of things do you like to do with your kiddos that the entire family enjoys?  What are some cool MUST SEE/DO family attractions in your home state?