Friends and Family

This weekend is going to be great. We have friends visiting from IN with their two children. Baby R cannot wait to play with them!

And on Sunday, my dad and stepmom are arriving from WV. I'm nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. I have visions of my dad trying to tell me how to raise, discipline, and feed my children - and I see myself going postal if he tries to do this. So, I'm anxious to see how we get along (as well as adding the stepmom into the mix).

And I have to admit to being excited because my kids love family. Baby R loves to talk about grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. He is really looking forward to "Grandpa Chuck's" visit. They will be staying with us for the next week and helping out while the hubby is in Chicago for training.

I have a few, fun recipes planned for this weekend and the coming week with my family:

• Baked chicken with salad, homemade croutons and panna cotta with raspberries - hands down my new fav dinner and dessert!
• Five-layer Italian dip - thanks to my friend, Amanda. She makes this for parties and such and it is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot say enough about this dip. I'll post the recipe below to spread the love.
• Cheese quesadillas with refried beans, and Mexican cheesy rice

You can tell I'm making out my supermarket list for today, right? Hahahah!

Five Layer Italian Dip (recipe)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup pesto
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, drained, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream cheese and parm. Spread onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish. Layer remaining ingredients over cream cheese mixture. Bake 15 mins or until heated through. Serve hot with assorted crackers or sliced Italian bread.


Also, for a baby update - Baby A is doing very well. Although, he does have a little cold and continues to want to nurse every 30 minutes. He is becoming more alert and starting to focus on his surroundings. I love when his eyes finally focus on me and he just stares so intently. But, I also get a kick out of him staring at his nose, cross-eyed. :)