Dave's favorite recipe

I don't share a lot of my recipes on here unless it changes our lives and this recipe definitely has! Ha! I found this recipe off of pinterest about a year ago and we immediately fell in love with it. It's not the easiest recipe but it's definitely not hard. Dave loves it, I love it, it makes killer left-overs, and it's very filling. And it's a Weight Watchers meal!!

Cheddar Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Ingredients

1/2 lb penne pasta

4 slices of bacon, diced

1/2 Tbsp butter

1 large chicken breast

1 Tbsp flour

1/2 package dressing mix (1/2 oz)

1 cup milk (I use 1 1/2 cups for a runnier sauce)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Directions

Cook pasta in boiling salted water, drain, return to pot and keep warm.

Meanwhile cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Drain all but 1/2 tablespoon of bacon drippings from pan.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the reserved bacon drippings, then add chicken to the same skillet. Cook until tender, no longer pink and slightly browned.

Sprinkle the flour and ranch dressing mix over chicken and stir. Stir in the milk and cook until thickened and bubbly. Stir in the cheese and the bacon until cheese is melted. 

Enjoy!

Memorial Day weekend

Dave had a four day weekend and we had so many fun things planned that would keep us outside in the sun the whole time! Friday we kicked it off by doing yard work ha! We also registered for our baby shower and it was a lot of fun. But by Friday night Dave caught a stomach bug that kept him in bed until Monday morning.. It was such a bummer! He felt better on Monday but it was so windy that it was way too miserable to be outside at all! So the weekend was spent cleaning and relaxing mostly. We did sneak in a few fun things though. Oh and Dave found a Star Wars marathon on T.V. that he insisted we be apart of. I know way more about Star Wars then I'd like to admit..

Anyways I did a lot of painting with Kyson over the weekend and we even taught him how to play Jenga, he's such a cheater! We had breakfast for dinner and spent an afternoon at the Splash Pad. And Kyson blew my mind by counting to 100 all by himself! We're raising a genius!!

 

Since Dave was feeling better on Monday we let Kyson decide what we would do that day. He chose the Arcade and ice cream after.

It was a good weekend considering most of our plans had to be cancelled do to a sick hubby but he's feeling better and we still managed to have a good time. Four days all to each other was just what we needed!

insta latelys

If you'd like to follow along on my insta journey, find me.

denise_madsen

(denise_madsen)

I'm always looking for new people to follow!

My sweet Grandma passed away at age 90 a couple weeks ago.

Having movie nights snuggled up to my hubby are my favorite. Oh and The Impossible is one of the saddest movies EVER! Even though it has a happy ending.

Throwback Thursday!

Finding out the little kicking machine in my belly is a girl! I was so happy I cried!!

Having a killer gender reveal party with some of my best friends!

Such a heartbreaking tragedy! But I loved this.

Baby registry! If you live in Utah I'd love to see you at my baby shower! Just email me your address at deniseeyre@hotmail.com

gender reveal party

Last weekend we had our Gender Reveal Party! My friend Vashti offered to throw it for us and we were ecstatic! All of my closest Texas friends were there and even Dave had a friend show up. It was so great to be surrounded by some of the people I hold closest to my heart! I just wish I lived closer to my family for events like these. There were so many kids running around and it was just the best day. We socialized, snacked on food, and played some awkward pregnancy games. I've never had so many people staring at my boobs at once haha. I cut the cake and served it and it was SO good! And then came time for the reveal! Our reveal was a pinata. It was so cute! It was a little box with streamers tied to the end of it. One of the streamers would release the bottom causing all the colored confetti to fall out. Dave and I started tugging at the streamers and nothing happened. I was too impatient so I just grabbed all of them and pulled hard! And out fell all the pink confetti!

(sorry for the poor quality, camera phones don't work too well with lots of fast movements!)

We are thrilled to be adding a daughter to our growing family and cannot wait for her arrival!

we're having a...

We couldn't be more excited!!

Now who wants to teach me how to make bows?!

Boy or Girl?

We had our gender ultrasound yesterday and we couldn't be happier with the results! We're having a gender reveal party on Saturday so until then what do you think we're having? Here are our results according to old wives tales.

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Rumor has it that if you are carrying your baby high, it's a girl. Carrying low? Stock up on blue.

Similar tales say if you carry in front, you've got yourself a little boy, and if you expand horizontally, it's a girl.

-I think I'm kind of in between high and low. Maybe I'm having an it? haha so I'm going to say a boy and a girl for this one.
 And I'm carrying all in the front, so BOY.

Legends say that if you are having a little girl, she'll steal your beauty. So, if you've got acne and other not-so-pretty skin blemishes, you've got a little princess coming your way.

I don't have any acne so BOY.

 Take off your wedding ring, tie it to a piece of string, and hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, you are promised a boy; back and forth indicates a girl.

BOY

 Your baby's heart rate might be an indicator of its gender. If your little one's heart rate is under 140 beats per minute, you're having a little boy. If it's over, get ready for your little girl!

GIRL

 Craving sweets? According to some, that means your going to have a little girl. Salty and sour cravings indicate a boy.

GIRL

  Chinese birth charts use your age at conception and the month you conceived to determine the sex of your baby.

BOY

 If you're stricken with a queasy stomach during your first trimester, think ribbons and bows. If you sail through your pregnancy with nary an upset stomach, it's blue all the way. 

BOY

So what do think? 

vacationing

Do you ever facebook stalk yourself? Or sit at your computer for what seems like hours just looking at your own pictures? Today was one of those days for me and I gotta say. I enjoyed it! It was fun reminiscing on Dave and my dating days, being newly weds, new parents and all the fun vacations we've taken. We're coming up on our fifth wedding anniversary and I'm happy to say we've done SO much as a couple in five years! 

I've always had a passion for traveling so when I married Dave at least one vacation a year was a requirement for me. Can you say spoiled? Vacationing was something that my family did a lot as a kid and it's something that I really wanted to share with Dave and do with our own family. Dave on the other hand thought traveling was a waste of money! What the? Who thinks like that? It took some time talking him into it and once we went on our first trip as husband and wife I thought I had it in the bag. Wrong! Dave still wasn't convinced that we needed a travel fund! It actually took me a few years to convince him that it was worth it and that seeing other parts of the world, even if it's just a state we've never been to was definitely not a waste of money.

Last year after months of begging I finally demanded that we go on a cruise. We went all out for that vacation and finally, finally Dave had traveling in his blood! He loved it! And now he's throwing out ideas for upcoming vacations!! We're both itching to go on another big trip but with a baby on the way, selling our house and Dave being in school it's just not going to happen any time soon. Bummer! But we do get to go on some get away's before this wee one arrives. That'll have to do!

 Utah

 Mount Rushmore

 Las Vegas

 Zion National Park

 North Dakota

Sea World, San Antonio

 Haiti

 Jamaica

 Cayman Islands

 Mexico

 Florida

Dallas

 I will always cherish these memories and I'm so glad that I was/am so pushy about traveling. Living in Texas has definitely not been my favorite experience in my life and I certainly haven't been hiding how much I don't like living here but I'm glad that we're surrounded by such amazing places! We'll only live here for a couple more years and there's still so much we want to experience before we move! Dave and I cannot wait to see more of the world and more of our own country.

to my mom

 To my Mom,

The one who raised me along with four other kids to be a loving, forgiving, kind person.

 the one who taught me to enjoy life. To remember the good times and learn from the bad times.

 To the one who loves her grandkids as much as her own kids.

 who taught me to put God first, to love and take care of her family and to always stand up for what you believe in.

I love you Mom! You are so strong, so spiritual, so loving and supportive and the most beautiful person I know! Because of you I know how to teach my kids the same morals and values that you taught me. I know it takes hard work and dedication to keep a marriage going and I know just how hard it is to be a mother. You've given me everything and supported me through my good times, bad times, and stressful times. I'm so glad that my kids get to call you grandma! Happy Mother's Day!

weeks 17 & 18

How far along are you?

18 weeks 5 days

How big is Baby?

According to the book 'What To Expect When Expecting' baby is 5 1/2 inches long and about 5 ounces.

According to the app on my phone baby is the size of an onion and weighs 5.9 ounces.

Weight Gain? 

1 pound

 Gender?

I don't know yet!! We find out next week! I'm thinking it's another boy though. I hope it's another boy!

Maternity Clothes?

Not yet! All my clothes still fit just fine. I was so anti maternity cloths last time so we'll see if I cave and buy some this time.

Stretch Marks?

No

 Sleep?

I sleep like a baby. Pun intended! I wake up once a night to go tinkle but I sleep great!

Symptoms?

Heartburn, heartburn and more heartburn! I think I drink a gallon of milk within a couple days! But milk works wonders for my heartburn.

And I'm crazy uncomfortable all. the. time!

Movement?

I felt those little baby kicks for the first time last week. FINALLY! And ever since he/she wont stop! It's going to be a tough little thing.

Food Cravings/Aversions?

Cravings: Fry sauce, chocolate, Macaroni and Cheese, hamburger.

Aversions: syrup, chicken.

Labor Signs?

No

Belly Button in or out?

In

What I miss?

My flat belly? haha 

I miss being able to eat anything I want without feeling like my throat is on fire.

What I am looking forward to?

Finding out the gender so I can start shopping!!

Best moment of the week?

It's been a nightmare of a week but the one good thing has been knowing my wee one is growing healthy and strong!

Daddy’s feeling?

Daddy is so tired all the time! He wakes up at 4:30 every morning, goes to the gym three times a day, goes to work, comes home and caters to my every need. I married a keeper! But he is beyond thrilled for this baby to get here!

tragedy turned personal

You've all heard about the 747 cargo plane that crashed in Afghanistan killing all seven members on board. So sad. So tragic.

 

 

 What you don't know is my husband was friends with one of the pilots flying the plane. They used to work together here in Texas and my husband is taking it kind of hard.

These kinds of things are never easy to hear about but when it hits so close to home, it's another story!

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families involved!!