Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous moms out there! I hope that you all were able to enjoy the day with friends and/or family today! We had an amazing weekend. I have lots of pictures to share with you all.

We started the weekend with some cleaning, because we had family coming to town! On Saturday, Adrienne and Paul, Meredith and David, and my Mom and dad came to town. Everyone had really wanted to see one of Sadie's soccer games, so we decided to make a weekend out of it! We were a little worried about the weather, but the rain held off and we were able to enjoy the game!

After the game, it still was dry, so we decided to hit up a local spot that I haven't been to in years- T. Bones on the Lake! I always forget about T. Bones, but it is so much fun to go there in the war weather months because it is right on the water. If you have a boat, you can even arrive via Lake Wylie! It ended up being super sunny and warm and we all had such a good time sitting out on the deck and chatting.

I decided on grilled fish tacos- which were delicious, by the way! I got mine lightly blackened. Instead of using the soft tacos, I just mixed mine all together into a taco salad. Perfect lake-side eats!

It actually made me really excited for summer and pool time and beach trips!

Adrienne had suggested bowling a while back, so after dinner, we decided to make a quick trip home to let the doggies out and then we headed to the bowling alley!

We had such a good time. I honestly do not think my family has ever bowled together. Sadie loved that the bowling alley had special tools to help her bowl and she is already asking to go back!

Since we had such a fun and busy day on Saturday, we decided on a low key brunch at our house for Mother's Day. The weather was amazing today, so we even were able to sit out on the deck and enjoy it.

 

Monkey bread...

 

Sausage, Sweet Potato, and Bell Pepper Frittatta

 

My plate (splurged on carbs today...oops!)

 

I think this was one of the best weekends at home that we have had this spring. The weather has been so cool and rainy. It was such a nice change to see the sun and be able to enjoy it! We even squeezed in some yard work this afternoon.

Hope you all had a nice weekend also!

 

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Birthday Celebration!

Hello friends! I have missed you! We have had a little bit of a crazy week or two, and I just couldn't seem to make time to blog. But I am back tonight!

Guess what has happened... my baby is now FIVE years old! how did that happen?! She grows and changes so much every single week. It just astounds me. I cannot believe she will be starting kindergarten in August. Where does the time go?

For her birthday, she chose to go to the Red Bowl for dinner. She enjoyed her chicken and fried rice and really did an amazing job using chopsticks!

Afterwards, we headed home for presents and cake.

Two days later, it was time to party. She had her birthday party at Thomas Gymnastics, where she takes lessons. All the kiddos had lots of fun jumping on trampolines and into the foam pit!

 

Later that evening, we treated her to dinner at her favorite spot: Fuji Steakhouse...a.k.a. "The Cook In Front of You Restaurant!"

She showed off her chopsticks skills once again, and enjoyed the special attention when the employees sang to her!

Now, that's a serious birthday celebration! It was so much fun to experience it all with her. Happy birthday to my baby!

Preview: tomorrow I will tell you about MY birthday dinner which was just two days later... and ended up with a police chase. Yep. Coming soon...

 

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Happy Birthday to Confessions Hubby!

This post is going to be a quick one. Today is the Confessions Hubby's Birthday! Happy birthday, honey! We enjoyed a family dinner and then presents and cake. Well...no cake for me, since I am doing a Whole 30.

Actually, it wasn't as hard as I thought. I think that I am just about through the sugar withdrawal here on Day 5. And yes, it was withdrawal. I think that is one of the hardest parts of the Whole 30, in the first 2 weeks. You honestly don't realize how much sugar is in the foods you eat. Just for a fun (or not?) experiment, watch your labels for an entire day and see how much sugar you consume. It is hidden in weird places. During a Whole 30, you cut out all types of added sugar: brown, white, raw, agave nectar, Splenda, stevia, etc.

So, since I didn't eat cake, I played around in the kitchen and came up with this little dish.

It's so simple, it isn't really a recipe. Sliced organic bananas, coconut milk (full fat from the can) drizzled on top, toasted hazelnut pieces over the top and some cinnamon to finish it off. YUM!

Well, friends, I am going to say good night! I am off to run a 5K in the morning!

Wish me luck!

 

 

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Holiday Goodie-Swap

Tis the season of holiday craziness! I love this time of year...the cards, the holiday parties, the family traditions...

Reading the holiday-themed magazines...

 

Going to holiday shows and pageants...

 

Holiday parties with friends...

 

Dressing up in red and green clothes... (Or dressing my child in them...)

 

Holiday baking...

 

Visiting Santa...

 

Decking the halls...

(Day view)

(Night view)

 

Making gingerbread houses...

 

And the Elf on the Shelf!

 

This holiday season has seemed to pass by extra quickly for The Confessions family. A few days ago, our Elf on the Shelf, Elfie, brought Sadie a paper link chain so she could count down the days until Christmas. I cannot believe that there are only 6 days left! Fortunately, our last "busy day" is tomorrow, so after tomorrow, I think that we can settle in and just enjoy being together.

On Monday night, I had the pleasure of attending a Goodie-Swap. If you are looking for a fun idea for a holiday party, this is a great one. If you have never been to a goodie- swap before, here is how it works. You make a food (or craft or whatever) to share with each person attending the party. When you attend the party, you get to collect one item from each person, and you come home with a basket of goodies!

Our goody swap was food-related. I wanted to make these sweet and salty spiced nuts, because they are delicious! Then I considered making this minty hot chocolate. But in the end, I decided to make my grandmother's butter cookies. These cookies are extra special because I used my grandmother's recipe AND her cookie press to make them. They are light, crunchy, and buttery! (Plus, they are super cheap to make and use ingredients that you usually have on hand anyway: sugar, flour, butter, milk, vanilla, eggs, and baking powder!)

 

 

 

Click here to view my post on how to make these butter cookies!

 

I made three varieties: flowers with a cherry center, camels with a chocolate sprinkle for the eye (because when else will you ever have a camel cookie??), flowers with red sprinkles, and Christmas trees with red and green sprinkles. My personal favorites are the ones with the cherry center. I forgot to buy maraschino cherries, so I used cherries from a can of cherry pie filling that I had. I just rinsed them off and cut them in half and set them fit in the flower centers before baking.

 

 

 

I came home with lots of goodies, including white trash party mix, gluten-free chocolate-oatmeal cookies, cheese rings, fresh-baked bread with pesto-butter, and more! (Read: I came home with lots of goodies that I do not need to be eating!). Hopefully the whole family will get to enjoy all the goodies!

I thought this was a great idea for a party and it was fun catching up with friends. And we all made samples to share with each other, so we had fun snacking, too!

 

Later this week, I have my second annual holiday brunch with my college friends! I am looking forward to a relaxing morning catching up!

 

Reader Question: Do you host any holiday gatherings? Do you have a favorite one that you attend? What is your favorite tradition?

 

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