Batman Birthday Party with Printables

My son recently turned five and for his birthday he wanted a Batman themed party. Needless to say I have been in all out party planning and prepping mode since he made this announcement. This is also why it has been a bit quiet around here lately – as there are only so many hours in the day and party planning can take quite a bit of work. As I tend to fully embrace party planning and themes in general, I had my work cut out for me. The party was great and everyone had a good time. I consider this a success. Now I need to recover.

March Monthly Meal Planning #FreePrintable

This whole monthly meal planning thing has made my life so much easier. It only takes me about one or two hours to put it all together and I am done with my planning for the entire month! I love how efficient this is making my every day routines and my weekly grocery store trips! So without further ado, here is the free monthly meal planning printable for the month of March!

31 Day Fitness Challenge {Abs, Arms, & Booty} #FreePrintable

It is time for another fitness challenge. Last month I shared with you my 30 Day Challenge, which was a 30 day total body workout that targeted the entire body and worked on endurance and building strength through repetition. No I am sharing with you my 31 Day Fitness Challenge which will target the abs, arms, and booty. This fitness challenge will target different areas of the body each day. Instead of simply doing more of the same exercises every day, you will be doing different exercises to keep things fresh and work different areas of your body more effectively.

 

Spinach Cheese & Chicken Lasagna #Recipe

My mother makes a phenomenal lasagna and over Christmas break this year I got to spend some time in the kitchen helping her make it. It is awesome, a little complicated, and I devour every single bite – it is that good. Unfortunately her recipe calls for ground beef and my husband has eliminated beef from his diet, so I had to get a little creative and think of a way to make lasagna with chicken instead. While I believe her recipe would be just as good with chicken, I thought a white creamy sauce would work better for us. Thus, the Spinach Cheese & Chicken Lasagna recipe was born.

  

Must Read Winter and Valentine’s Day Books for kids!

My mother, the former elementary school librarian, instilled a love of literature in me at an early age. To this day one of my favorite things to do is curl up with a good book. I love trips to the library and I practically jump with joy when I am introduced to a new author whose books have the ability to capture my attention from the very first page. And because I love to read so much, I want my children to love to read too. So I read to them daily. My mother has been gracious enough to put together a list of some great winter and Valentine’s Day books for me and I have decided to share this list with you.

Pirates and Pixies Themed Birthday Party #DisneySide

I have a best friend in my neighborhood named Julie. It just so happens that my friend Julie is also the mother to a wonderful little boy and girl who my children love to play with. Works out pretty well, huh? A short time ago my friend Julie celebrated her children’s birthdays with a pirate and pixie themed birthday party. Since she has twins, a boy and a girl, she was going for something for each gender that would be a hit. Mission accomplished! This Pirate and Pixie theme was a smash and my children are still playing with their favors from the party!

A little snow goes a long way!

I remember when I was little and we lived in Wisconsin and it would snow. We would grab our snow gear and head outside to play. We went sledding, built snow men, and got into snow fights. When I was little older and we lived in St. Charles Illinois I can remember building snow forts with all of the kids in the cul-de-sac. I remember a childhood spent outside playing. So now that I have three little ones I try to get them outside when I can so that they can make some memories of their own… when the weather permits and there isn’t a polar vortex!

Make Your Own Mexican Pizza #Recipe

I used to love eating the Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas. This was back when I was thin and didn’t worry about calories, how food was processed, or how much food cost {not that Taco Bell is expensive, but the cost of eating out does add up}. Now that I am no longer a DINK {double income no kid} household I find that I think about the cost of a meal, how the food in that meal is processed and prepared, and how many calories are in it. It also helps that making my own Mexican Pizzas at home is super simple. It is a very quick and easy dinner solution that tastes great.