This weekend was fun & productive so I wanted to share it with you

I was so happy to get away this past weekend. Even if it was a quick day trip to Rhode Island, it’s always nice to visit family and get out of town for a bit. It reminds me to slow down and enjoy family time.

Saturday morning we hit the road bright and early.

Iced coffee in hand and maybe a donut for Ava and a muffin for mommy I’m guilty of a sweet tooth this pregnancy, but I’m rolling with it right now.

The trip was great and we made it to RI by 930am. I feel bad I made us stop to pee but this bladder is getting smaller and smaller each week.

We spent the day with Marc’s family and were fortunate that his aunt and grandma came to visit us. It’s so nice to be able to see them all.

Ava had a blast with her cousins.

She got to have cake and blow out candles for her Mimi’s birthday.

The kids ran around outside, played with toys and ate lunch together.

The day was great. I felt like when we got home my mind was rested and we were all in a happy mood.

Sunday Marc and I decided we wanted to be productive. By productive I mean we were nesting. That word sounds funny to me, but its the exact stage I feel that I am in. I’m making to-do lists, organizing drawers, cabinets, pantries & closets. I’m literally trying to throw everything out. If we haven’t used it in the last year it’s going in the garbage or it’s getting donated!!

It feels great to do some spring cleaning and also organize my life at home. I know once this baby is here I won’t be doing any of this stuff so I’d rather get it all done now.

The clock is ticking and with 8 weeks left I know I have to do a little each day to finish all the items on my list. Is it possible????

I sometimes question it, but I’m determined to clear the clutter and my mind!

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

How organized are you at home? Any organizational tips for this mama?

I’ll take 50 degrees any day over anything below 32 degrees. I’m so ready for spring and the opportunity to do more activities outdoors.

I’m starting to get antsy and I think Cooper & Ava are too. When the weather is nice they both get to play outside and get there exercise. We are all around happier when the temperatures are on their way up. Do you feel the same way?

We were productive this weekend, but we also relaxed, had fun and most importantly enjoyed each other’s company.

Friday night was low-key we had dinner at home and Marc and I watched Grey’s Anatomy on demand. Thursday nights I am at boot camp and never make it home in time so I like having something to look forward to on a Friday night in my sweatpants!

Saturday we took our time getting up in the morning. Marc and I made a trip to trader Joe’s in the morning with Ava to get some groceries and stock the fridge.

Ava loves the carts.

I took Cooper for a long walk in the afternoon. It was quite chilly by the water but we both enjoyed being outside.

Marc and I also went to Target in the afternoon. My dad watched Ava which was awesome and we got to spend some money on random things.

For dinner it was homemade pizza night in our house!

My pizza had chicken, gorgonzola, spinach, and roasted red peppers. Marc’s was olives, mozzarella, provolone, and tomatoes.

It was fun, easy, and delicious.

Plus the meal cost about $10 to make 2 pizzas. It was great.

Sunday Marc’s parents visited from Rhode Island. Ava always gets super excited when they come over and I love seeing how happy she is.

There were LOTS of smiles yesterday.

She shows off her new toys and takes advantage of all the attention for the day.

We went to the playground which was complete crazyness. There were about a million kids and families but Ava and her cousin Natalie had a blast. I have NO pictures because if I took my eye of Ava for one second she would be lost!!!

Our evening finished up with dinner at a friends house. I always love a home cooked meal from a chef

The food was amazing and we had a great night! Ava thoroughly enjoyed playing and chasing around their cat Holly too! She has a lot of love for animals.

how was your weekend?

Are you ready for Spring??

I actually didn’t take many pictures this weekend! I know I know, that’s part of my blogging job but sometimes living in the moment is better.

Friday night we had a fabulous dinner at Villa Italia Ristorante in Stamford, CT with my family. I literally had my phone out to take pictures, but when you are presented with amazing food and delicious smells your pregnant belly takes over and you dig in only to realize oops my meal is gone and I forgot to snap a picture to share this lovely meal with my blogging friends.

Well… I had Mussels in a Garlic White Wine Sauce with roasted veggies on the side, and some italian bread. Ava had some meatballs, carrots (from my veggie mix), french fries (from uncle Jeff’s meal) and some bread. She ate so much food.

Marc had lobster ravioli which to be honest doesn’t excite me but he said it was delicious!!! It was a great night and we had fun!

Saturday we were up early as usual, Marc bought us coffees and we went to visit my friend Danielle at her deli The Pemberwick Exchange in Greenwich.

Ava loved all the bacon!!!

We had an impromptu playdate with our neighbors which Ava thoroughly enjoyed

and then we ate a quick lunch. Salads topped with Rotisserie chicken!! yum.

See that belly popping??

I hit up the Gym to get a quick workout in and I will share my workout with you tomorrow. It was pretty good!

The night was relaxing, we ate dinner at home with my family and made meatballs & chicken Marsala.

When they left Marc & I watched Scandal on demand from Thursday night and munched on some popcorn. Love that show and it always keeps me on edge!!!

I worked a little Sunday morning and then the afternoon was spent hanging with Marc and Ava.

We also took Cooper for a nice long walk because the weather was great and did some stuff around the house.

Marc and I also made this delicious Lemon Chicken dinner. Sorry for the messy pic. We were hungry!

After 2 back to back family filled weekends I can’t help but smile. I don’t dread going to work on Mondays and I’m super thankful for that. Now I am off to teach Group Power and get my sweat on with my baby bump!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Do you dread Mondays or do you not mind them?

This weekend flew by as usual, it was productive and fun.

Saturday morning I had an in home client that I trained and then we made a quick trip to Kohl’s to do some shopping.

In case you don’t know me that well, I’m not a very good shopper. I love having new clothes but I hate picking them out. Maybe it’s because I’m not stylish and I don’t know what I look best in. (workout clothes??)

In the afternoon on Saturday we headed to my friend’s daughter Lilly’s 4th Birthday party.

It was a painting party and I’m pretty sure all the kids had a blast.

Ava was SUPER excited to paint her letter A and she kept saying “Ava’s painting, Ava’s coloring.” It was really cute.

I had a great time watching her smile and have fun playing with the other kids.

Sunday I taught an early morning Boot camp class. I loved the workout I had planned and I was super excited that both Ava and Marc came for a visit. I think everyone enjoyed their company and distraction.

I was craving “not cooking” lunch after that workout and didn’t want any part of the kitchen so I ran to Citarella to grab a hot lunch from he hot foods bar. I chose Chicken Francese and Steamed broccoli with garlic and olive oil. It was SUPER tasty and satisfying.

I’m not sure if this picture does the food any justice, it was delicious and even better that I didn’t need to prepare it.

In the afternoon I got a haircut, went to trader Joe’s and then took Cooper to the dog park.

I don’t know who had more fun, him or Ava? It was a tie.

I hope you all had a great weekend.

Do you have any fun stuff to share from your weekend?

Do you ever have those days when you DON’T want to cook?

I had a whirlwind of a weekend and it was action packed with super fun activities.

After Boot Camp last Thursday night we headed up to Rhode Island. We figured the traveling would be easier if Ava was sleeping in the car but of course there were still tons of people on the road! We got to RI about 10pm and with plans to go to bed early Ava quickly changed that. She got her second wind and stayed up until 1am.

Friday morning I woke up and drank some coffee after feeling a little tired from my busy week and the little sleep. We took Ava and her cousin Natalie to a unique shopping center that had a little petting zoo with chickens, goats, and little shops in the mix.

They also had a bamboo forest.

The girls had fun exploring. We also made a trip to a park to let Ava & Natalie have some fun!

After our morning adventures we hung out at Marc’s parents until it was time for Marc to drive me to Misquamicut to meet up for my friend Megan’s Bachelorette Party!

We stayed at the Breezeway Resort which was located right by Misquamicut Beach!

We stayed and hung out at the beach until about 5pm, the weather was perfect!

Once we got ready we headed to the Ocean Mist for dinner.

Followed by some drinks & dancing at Paddy’s Cafe.

We had a blast hanging out, sharing conversations, and partying for Meg’s last weekend as a bachelorette!

Saturday morning I woke up early, thanks to my biological clock that is set on Ava’s schedule. I didn’t mind being up early and being able to lay in bed without having to jump up to get Ava or change a diaper! I got some breakfast with the girls and then went for a long walk on the beach!

After lunch time I headed back to the hotel room to shower & get changed, it was time for me to head to our friend Lauren & Chris’s wedding in Worcester Massachusetts.

Marc picked me up at 2pm and we made the trip to the wedding. We were able to pass time quickly as I recapped my fun night with the girls the night before.

The wedding started off with cocktail hour at 430pm.

The food was delicious! I did indulge in some cocktails as well

The wedding was beautiful.

I devoured my dinner in minutes it was so delicious. We had filet mignon, rosemary potatoes, & green beans! Yum.

The rest of the night was spent catching up with college friends.

Dancing on the dance floor!

and celebrating the new Mr. & Mrs. Chris Desantis, It was a beautiful wedding!

The end of our trip pretty much looked like this….. we were all completely wiped!!

Now it’s time for me to head to work and teach Group Power. I may need a little luck with this workout, I’m pretty tired from my fun weekend!

I decided to do a quick picture recap of our little vacation:

Thursday we headed to Rhode Island bright and early! Cooper watched Ava in the back seat for us.

We spent the day at the beach.

I absolutely love the Rhode Island beaches, the noise of the waves really has a calming and relaxing effect on me

Ava seemed to enjoy herself.

I had a delicious Grilled Salmon Salad from Matunuck Oyster Bar!

Marc and I attended a beautiful wedding for our college friend. The place was gorgeous!

I loved the little details of the wedding..

The food was delicious… and so good that I only snapped the picture of the salad.

Did I mention that I love weddings!?

It was our first night with out Miss Ava and we missed her!

Happyyy Monday……

In the early afternoon we headed to one of my friend’s daughters 2nd birthday party. Lilly is such a cutie and it was nice to hang out with some family friends.

Check out these cute mini mouse cupcakes…

For dinner Marc and I headed to Elm Street Oyster House a local restaurant. I was having a fish craving and they have tons of great options. I didn’t take a picture but I had one of the specials.  It was a pan roasted red snapper with a tomato and hearts of palm sauce on top and spinach on the side, it was delicious.

Sunday was when all the productivity hit. Marc went out and got us a pumpkin coffee which I was pumped about and he made us some eggs for breakfast. After we ate, we took another nice long morning walk with Cooper.  My mom came over to help us move some furniture in our bedroom (since I am not allowed to lift furniture) and we put our new rug down. During the whole process we did a lot of cleaning so our room is spotless!

Next came hanging our Gutter book shelves. Yes, GUTTER. They are literally the gutters you put on the side of your house but they are super cute as a bookshelf. Check it out…

We also hung the curtains in the nursery.. and the room is coming together quite nicely! The photo below is a little dark.. but you get the idea.

Grocery shopping was the next stop and we got some healthy food and snacks for the week. Including some steak for dinner… I guess the baby needed some iron!

Some meal ideas for the week are:

• Pan seared Chicken, Kale, & Tomatoes
• Turkey Meatloaf
• Baked Chicken Cutlets

And here is a quick belly shot of me from a few days ago.. I will have an updated pic for tomorrow’s post!

35 weeks and a few days

I have a very busy day ahead of me … I hope you have a good one!