Noah is TWO!

Ah, you guys I have a TWO YEAR-OLD! What?! How is this possible? Time has just flown by. I feel like we just took that sweet baby boy home and now here we are with a two year-old toddler who is wild and crazy, and now we're waiting for the arrival of his sister.
Noah brings us so much joy to our daily life. I can't even remember life before he was in it.

This year we decided not to do a big birthday party. We did a big party last year for his first birthday (check out his party here) and it was awesome, but this year we decided to focus on quality time and experience (even tho he won't remember himself) vs a party. Noah is all about "play, play, PLAY!" I can't tell you how many times a day he asks to go play. We heard about an amusement park that is two hours from our house called Gardaland, and it has a great area for toddlers so we knew he would be in "play" heaven. We went the weekend before his actual birthday because I was 36 weeks pregnant and we thought that should probably be the last time we travel that far from home. It was fun to start his birthday week off exactly the week before at the amusement park. Robbie's good friend joined us for the day and he loves Noah! He is actually who we are counting on to baby sit if I go into labor at night. Thank goodness for friends when family isn't close by!

Noah had SO much fun! He was asking to go on the big roller coasters! Such a little dare devil. He definitely gets that from his daddy. I was impressed with the amount of rides he was able to ride and all the play grounds they had. They even had a splash pad and another water area for kids but I didn't bring Noah's suit so we stuck to the play grounds and rides. We spoiled him with way too much sugar and a new basketball. He was such a good boy the whole day and the car ride there and back. He is still rear facing so sometimes long car rides can be rough but he watched his movies and did awesome!

It was a bit of a tight squeeze for daddy!! 

His actual birthday was the 27th and Robbie was able to get someone to cover his shift at work so he could spend the day with him. We woke up and Noah immediately found his birthday cup cakes I had made the night before. Before I could even get to the coffee maker he was holding one saying, "cake!" so I gave in and let him have one with breakfast. It's totally acceptable to have cake for breakfast on your birthday, right?? haha. Then we facetimed Mimi and Papa so they could sing to him. After he was done talking to them I made some pancakes in the shape of a number 2. So simple but so fun!!

We decided to let him open his gifts that morning so he could play with them all day. Oh man, this kid can rip through some wrapping paper like no body's business. He has def gained some skills since Christmas haha.

I am so proud of Noah's manners. He is full of "please" and "thank-you" without prompting and that made his birthday even sweeter. I am so proud of my big boy.
Even though he didn't understand that it was birthday he would tell you he is "TWO!" when you asked how old he was turning. He could def sense the excitement of the day. He was asking to go "bye-bye" and we told him after his nap we would be doing something fun. He was then asking to go "night-night" and woke up sooner than usual very happy! It's like he knew something fun was planned for him!

We took him bowling which is one of his favorite things to do. We had a couple friends join us which made it even more special for him. I am thankful for the friends we have made here. I know I mentioned that before, but for real. It is HARD making friends but especially overseas so the ones who show up at a moments notice really mean a lot.

Noah loves to give hugs!! :) 

The bowling alley allowed me to bring in his birthday cup cakes so we could sing to him. Otherwise it would have just been Robbie and I singing to him at home, which I am sure he would have still loved. I was really missing family when it came time to sing "Happy Birthday"! It just makes a little one's birthday so special. 

He has all of a sudden started loving elmo so I tried to make an Elmo cake from cupcakes. It's def not pinterest worthy and almost sent me into labor the night before from frustration haha but it did the job and Noah loved it. That's all that matters, right?? I am so not a decorator! 

We finished out the day with his request of pizza for dinner and a facetime call to Grammie. He opened his present from her and Grandpa and was so excited. Thank goodness for technology!! It is safe to say he had a fun birthday!! 

Food Prep: My Tips & Tricks

Have you ever heard that quote, "Fail to plan and plan to fail"?

Well, for me this is totally true when it comes to food prep.
As you know, I am all about saving time and money. When I fail to meal prep and am left with out prepared food for school then I easily get off course with my diet or spend unnecessary money on meals, so I try really hard to have easily accessible food in my fridge.

I am going to discuss my personal tips and tricks for successful meal prep. I hope this helps some of you!

TIP #1: Bulk Cook

I know you have all heard it. Everyone bulk cooks, but this especially works well for me because I don't mind eating the same things for lunch. On Monday I bulk cook a whole bag of chicken breasts in the crock pot. This will get me about 4 days worth of lunch meat. I will pair it with a salad or veggies of some sort. I also bulk cook my egg whites. I have not seen a lot of people do this, but for me it is a total time saver. My mornings are usually very busy getting all dolled up for school (we have to dress nice and style our hair EVERY day) so when it comes to breakfast I want something quick and delicious. I make about 12-14 eggs at a time. I cook them with spinach and keep them in a large container in the fridge. That gives me eggs for about 3 days. I often add hot sauce or salsa to the top of them but I never get sick of eggs with spinach.

 

I also bulk cook veggies from time to time! I paired this zucchini with my Italian Style Chicken a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

TIP #2: Invest in tupperware and baggies

I love tupperware and tupperware of all sizes! Using the appropriate size for the appropriate item is great for portion control. I know what container is perfect for 1/2 c of cottage cheese and so on. I recommend using the extra small containers for a small amount of salad dressing, the small containers for greek yogurt or cottage cheese, medium sized for veggies, tuna or meat and of course the large ones for bulk cooked items and whole meals. I also love baggies. I use the snack bags the most and recommend reusing them when possible! I use them for dry almonds, protein powder, carrot sticks, celery, apple slices etc. I use the large bags for marinating and freezing meat, chopped up romaine etc.

Here I chopped up an apple and put 1/4 into a snack bag with cinnamon. I have been obsessed with adding them to my oats and it limits my fruit. This saves me time in the morning when making my oats because slicing apples is just not realistic on a time crunch!

TIP #3: Buy a large cooler/lunch bag

Yes, those 6 pack coolers are amazing and I want one but I don't have one and I am getting along just fine! I got my large lunch cooler from target for about $15. It is deep and fits all my containers and has a zipper front for utensils. The inside also comes out so I can wash it out and disinfect it easily.

My awesome cooler and a variety of tupperware!

TIP #4: Schedule a Time to Prep

I know a lot of people like to prep on Sundays. If that works for you because you work Monday-Friday then that is great. For me personally, I prep on Mondays because I go to school Tuesday-Saturday. I usually prep my bulk foods Monday afternoon and take the time to pack my meals for the next day that evening. The rest of the week I try to pre-pack my meals after dinner so around 6pm. We work-out around 7pm so I am more likely to pack my food if I just get it done after dinner vs after the gym when I am ready to shower and get to bed. This also saves me time in the morning because my cooler is already ready to grab from the fridge with my snacks and lunch.

TIP #5: Pack Enough Food

The worst thing you can do is not pack enough food. This can cause you to get off track or buy snacks that aren't necessary. I make sure my portions are realistic and I make sure I pack enough water to keep me from getting too hungry between meals. I also like to pack extra baggies of almonds and protein powder in my zipper compartment of my cooler for "just in case" moments. You will be happy you did when you end up out later than expected and need an extra meal.

So there you have it, my top 5 tips for meal prep! Did I miss anything? What do you do differently?

I hope everyone had a great Monday! My goal for this week is to add AM cardio to help get ready for my birthday! Only 7 days away :)

XOXO,
E