Monday Madness

{Weekend Recap}::: Friday night we went to Good Friday service at Hosanna! before heading to my hometown, Cornell, WI to spend the Easter weekend with my family. We didn't get there until late Friday night and then stayed up catching up with my family until nearly midnight! Saturday we had Easter dinner with my mom's boyfriend's side of the family and then hubby and I headed to my dad's to have Easter dinner with him and my brother and brother's girlfriend. It was a full day with a lot of eating! Then Sunday it was church and off to Fanny Hill for Easter brunch with my mom, her boyfriend, my grandma, my brother and his girlfriend, and hubby too of course! Then we headed back to Minnesota! Here are a few pictures to sum up the weekend...mostly of our little guy, Baxter! Love him!

Baxter drove us to Cornell :)

But after all that driving he got really sleepy and took a nap on Daddy's lap. 

Cuddling up with Daddy at Easter dinner on Saturday. Rock a bye Baxter.

Me and Baby Christian got our picture taken with the Easter Bunny at Fanny Hill too! Our niece Sarah saw another pregnant lady do this and asked me to do it too! Almost didn't think I was going to have a chance, but luckily the bunny was at Fanny Hill on Easter!

Here he is sleeping on my lap on our way home yesterday. He has been sleeping ever since we left Cornell!! My grandma really wears him out! 

{The Weather}::: After several days in the 40s, Saturday brought rain and cooler temps and Sunday actually brought a few snow showers and a dreary morning...followed by blue skies and sunshine! But still chilly! I woke up this morning to a windchill of only 5 degrees :( Might not be getting out for a walk today, but by tomorrow its supposed to be in the high 30s and even in the upper 40s-low 50s by Wednesday and the rest of the week! Hoping the snow is gone by next week!!

{The Menu}::: We actually ate all the meals I planned for last week! This week we have a lot of eating out planned, so less cooking for me :) Here is what we will probably be eating when I do cook this week:

• Poop on a Snowbank (AKA Shit on a Shingle but served on mashed potatoes instead of toast)
• Vegetable Soup (before soup season is over!)
• Chicken Enchiladas

{My To-Do List}::: I had already accomplished a lot when I posted last week on Tuesday. As for the rest of the week, all I got done was Baby Shower Thank Yous...but those were important! Here is what I'm hoping for this week:

• Finish Before You Were Here Book which I had hoped to finish last week

Other things going on this week: 

• Follow up ultrasound in 3D on Friday at 2:15pm
• Birthplace Tour of the hospital where I will be delivering at on Saturday at 10am

My complete list of things I would like to finish before baby gets here: 

1. Paint the wooden legs of his hamper black to match his room
2. Make a photo book of our honeymoon
3. Make a photo book of our wedding
4. Make a photo book of our first year of marriage...or get it started and up to date
5. Continue working on Christian's Baby Book 
6. Make clothing dividers for Christian's closet
7. Maybe make cushion covers for our rocker glider that is upstairs
8. Clean the carpets...planning to do this May 11th (our next free weekend!!) so hopefully baby doesn't come too early! ha ha 

Hoping to accomplish #1 and #2 next week. I think it should all be done (minus the carpets) by the end of April! :) 

{Weekly Goals}::: I actually blew this goal out of the water and walked FIVE days last week instead of only 3-4! Based on the weather...here is my goal for this week plus another goal:

• Walk at least 4 days
• Read the Bible at least 3 days

{Words of Wisdom}::: I still haven't memorized last week's verse, so we are sticking with that for this week :)
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." ~Matthew 6:33

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

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Monday Madness

{Weekend Recap}::: Yes. You are right. I have been missing in action the last few days. As I mentioned in last week's post, I was babysitting on Thursday and Friday of last week, which ended up meaning no blogging. Instead, I got to have lots of fun with Zoe and Jaden! On Thursday morning, I picked them up at the Water Park of America where we were able to enjoy the water park for awhile before heading on our way. If you are from the area, I HIGHLY recommend you check this place out! Even if you're not, it might make for a great winter weekend get away :) 

After the water park, we met hubby at his work for lunch. The kids love getting to see Jim too and he sure loves them! Jaden decided he wants to work at Best Buy when he grows up so that he can eat there every day. I guess he loved the mac and cheese! That and the cool "tractor" (aka conveyor belt thing) that takes your dishes away to the kitchen. 

After visiting Jim, we made a quick stop at Wal-Mart to buy some play dough and ingredients to make these yummy cupcakes! 

The kids frosted and decorated these ones all by themselves! 

Hubby and I lead a small group Bible Study on Thursday nights, so before the kids and I started having too much fun, I let them play with our puppy Baxter while I did some cleaning. I think they love "Basker" more than us! ha ha ha 

It wasn't long before they wanted to help with the cleaning too. And good little helpers they were! 

Finally, after cleaning and playing with Baxter, we enjoyed some play dough time once Jim got home from work. I think I may find myself playing with this this week! :) 

Hubby was having lots of fun. Check out his platypus. I think that's what Jaden decided it was.

Jaden didn't have a name for these...but they were his creations :) 

On Friday, Hubby took a vacay day to spend with us and we headed to the library for story time. However, the storyteller ended up being sick so we watched a movie about snowflakes and The Three Little Pigs. 

After story time we read some books and explored the library a bit before heading to Chuck E. Cheese. The kids always seem to look forward to this when they visit us, so it has become somewhat of a tradition. I think its Jim's favorite too :) 

After Chuck E. Cheese, we hit up the Como Zoo where the kids got some "face time" with this Orangutan. They were making faces at him and next thing they knew, the Orangutan covered his face and turned away!!! Jaden later went back to tell him "Sorry that his friends were mean" ha ha 

After a full day, it was time to drop the kids off with their dad. It's always fun having Zoe and Jaden and getting to "play house."  Won't be long, though, and we will have a kid we won't send home! Crazy! 

The rest of the weekend was VERY low key. This was the first weekend in at least 6 weeks that we haven't had any plans!! So we soaked it up! Saturday and Sunday was spent lounging on the couch and having a "Lost" marathon. We are now finally half way through season 6 and almost done! 

{The Weather}::: This morning we woke up to WHITE. WHAT!?!?! It's supposed to be spring :/ It was probably done snowing by about 10:30am or so, but we still got a few inches. Maybe 2-3? Right now its only 17 degrees but with windchill it feels like NEGATIVE 1!! :( Lows tonight are supposed to get in the negative 20s I believe. The rest of the week is also looking like mid teens to upper 20s. Come on Minnesota! 

{The Menu}::: I think we end up needing to eat leftovers more than I think we will, because we never eat all the meals I plan. 

• Steaks and sweet potatoes
• Stir Fry
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Chicken and Bisquits
• Pigs in a Blanket

{My To-Do List}::: Yay for me! I got everything accomplished last week that I had wanted to! :) Now for this week....

1. Print Mad Libs Story book pages for Baby Shower
2. Pack hospital bag
3. Get coffee with 2 friends :) 
4. Prepare food for Baby Shower on Saturday

And, as always, the weekly stuff....

• Clean
• Laundry
• Couponing
• Grocery Shopping

{Weekly Goals}::: This week, I am shooting for only 1 goal. I have NOT been doing well at my weekly goals. 

1. Go for a walk at least 1-2 times this week. 

{Weekly Words of Wisdom}:::

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." ~Psalm 119:11

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! 

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Weekend Recap

As I shared in this post last week, hubby and I headed to Chicago over the weekend and just got back late last night.

It was a sad trip but yet such a blessing. Jim and I were able to spend some time with my mom and grandma. Jim also got to meet some of my extended family which he had yet to meet and my grandma even got to see cousins that she hadn't seen in MANY years! We were in Illinois for my Great Aunt Donna's memorial service on Sunday. It was a very beautiful celebration of her life. I wish that I could have known her more as it has been probably almost at least 12 years since I last saw her.

We decided we better take advantage of the photo opportunity. Here is my grandma and her brother, Bob with 3 of their cousins whom they hadn't seen in quite some time! 

Of course we also got a full Bollenbach Family photo. There was a bit of a glare from the sun on the left which we were unable to escape. Hubby and I are the last 2 in the front row on the right :) We were rocking the matching outfits. 

We even matched with our coats on! 

We got to Bolingbrook, IL Saturday night and spent some time with my mom and grandma catching up at our hotel. Then on Sunday we headed to a church in Naperville which was similar to the church we attend in Minnesota, Hosanna! Then we grabbed some quick lunch before heading to the memorial service. After the service we grabbed a late lunch/snack with family and caught up some more. Then we ran some errands and headed to dinner. 

Monday was our last day in Illinois and we made our way to downtown Chicago. On the way, though, we made a stop in Joliet, Illinois at the prison. If any of you are fans of Prison Break, this is where the show was filmed! Along with The Blues Brothers movie. If you haven't followed Prison Break, check out the youtube clip below, but be careful, you may become hooked! Jim has seen all the seasons but I have only seen the first episode of season 1. And I know I'm going to be addicted. It was crazy to be at a real prison (that is no longer open) but was also where a show we watch was filmed! Unfortunately, they don't give tours, so we were only able to see the outside. 

After the prison, we made our way to another movie set location...does this house look familiar? 

If you guessed the house from Home Alone where the McAllister's lived, you are right! How crazy cool is this!?! If you notice, there is a sign in the lower left hand corner by a tree. This sign states that it's private property so no knocking on the door, etc. People live there there! It was recently on the market for over 1 million dollars and was previously listed for approximately 2.4 million dollars. I wonder if Kevin was home? :) 

Finally, before heading to dinner and making our way to the airport to head home, we made the trek into downtown Chicago for one last even more memorable experience....

Here are some pictures from the drive. Not much busier than downtown Minneapolis, but I was still glad to be the passenger and not the driver! Check out those blue skies, too! It was 41 degrees and we had the windows rolled down! Okay, maybe not down down as in all the way down...But the sunroof was open and the windows were cracked. We were loving the fresh air! 

Now where was our last stop? Check back later this week to find out! It involves Baby Foote! Any guesses? 

Monday Madness

It's Monday!!! Again. But this Monday is a little different. It's President's Day. This means hubby is working from home. So technically its not FULLY a work day, right? :) 

{The Weather} Its looking pretty dreary this morning, but not super chilly. Currently 30 degrees but feels like only 25 degrees with a high of 31 degrees. It is looking like the rest of the week might be a bit chilly with highs in the single digits tomorrow and snow on its way... But NEXT week might bring some heat! Highs of 35 degrees by the end of next week! Fingers crossed it comes true! 

{Weekend Recap} Where did the weekend go?? What did we do?? Friday night we hung out with some friends from church and played games. Saturday I met up with a friend from high school. Well, I might as well say a friend from Preschool because I have known her that long! Such a joy to catch up and pick up right where we left off. Time with her is always filled with laughter! Then came home to relax a bit until Saturday night church with some more friends and dinner after church at "The Chart House"....can I say YUM! First time there but it was really good! AND I got a free super gorgeous rose that was leftover from Valentine's Day. AWESOME. 

{Sad News} On Friday we got the news that my Great Aunt Donna had passed away that morning after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She put up a good fight. We will be heading to be with family for her memorial service in Illinois next Sunday. 

{Weekly Menu} So I'm not really sure what we ate last week, I know I cooked and we had a few days of eating leftovers, but many of the things on our menu this week haven't changed from last week: 

• Broccoli Soup
• Stir Fry 
• Fajitas
• Ravioli and cooked carrots
• Turkey Burgers and sweet potatoes
• Vegetable Soup

{My To-Do List} Looking over my list from last week, I got everything done except for working on our 'Before You Were Here' Book for Baby Christian. However, the pictures I ordered for the book have not gotten here yet, so that project has been delayed. 

Here is my list for this week: 

1. Copy my stack of recipes onto recipe cards to file away 
2. Start working on a photo book of our honeymoon
3. Research how to patch slight holes in your wall so I can start working on getting some painting done
4. Hopefully finish up my photo organizing once the remaining pictures get here

Plus my regular weekly duties: 

• Cleaning
• Laundry
• Couponing 
• Grocery Shopping

{Weekly Words of Wisdom}

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." ~Colossians 3:16 

Our church just started a new series for Lent called "40 Days in the Word" and our small group will be starting the accompanying study and devotional on Thursday this week! Looking forward to it. Check out sermons here

Have a great week!